Demon's Past
by Elusive Panther
Summary: Rin is not all what he seems. Since his first year in middle school, Rin has been in the gang 'Laughing Shadows', a group of strong fighters who call Rin their best friend and family. What will happen when Rin accidentaly leads his friends from the cram school to 'Laughing Shadows' base? Sucky summary, better story, hopefully. First fanfic. RinxOC. Please read! T for swearing/gore
1. A Death, A Call, And A Lingering Secret

**A/N: this is my first fanfic so be nice, ok? **

**Disclaimer- I do not own Ao No Exorcist. I wish I did, but, I don't. What I do own are my OCs.**

Demon's Past

Footsteps echoed off the walls of the grimy alleyway. Two shadows ran through the dark, their breathing heavy. A boy around 14 pulled a girl, also 14, through the slums, as if their lives depended on it.

"Demon, slow down!" The girl huffed. 'Demon' glanced over his shoulder to look at his companion. His eyes showed fear but tried not to let it show.

"We can't slow down, they'll kill us." Demon said as he looked away from her emerald eyes.

Shouts were heard from behind them, drawing closer. The girl shut her eyes, trying to slip away from the current situation. Demon squeezed her hand and she opened her eyes.

"I won't let them hurt you, Wolf." He said, determination blazing in his eyes. 'Wolf' nodded silently to her boyfriend, hoping that they would soon be safe and out of harms way.

Wolf blinked. Then the image rised from the depths of her mind, the blood chilling image of the person who raised her right off the streets, dead. His blood painting the alley walls in crimson, and dripping down slowly to meet the cold ground. Serpent was dead. She never even knew his real name. It was simply a name he went by in the gang. 'Laughing Shadows's' gang leader was dead. Serpent had been taken down by a bullet through the head, shot by a rival gang. The only survivers; Wolf and Demon.

Demon snapped Wolf out of her thoughts as he made a sharp turn into another passage. The passage smelled of rot, and the ground slick. The pair made another sharp turn and appeared in the middle of a sidewalk. Demon charged into a huge crowd, Wolf still in tow, hoping to lose their followers.

People yelled at us as we pushed through them, heading deeper into the slums. Blood gushed from a wound on Demon's chest, a knife slash from an attacker.

Demon sprinted into another alley and did another sharp turn into a hidden passage. The passage was familiar and safe, to all the members of Laughing Shadows. A big cement building loomed in front of them. The building was three stories high, windows with no glass, and splashes of red dotted the building here and there. Basically, it wasn't a place you wanted to be at night, let alone during the day. But to Demon and Wolf, it was home.

Know that they were safe, Demon let go of her hand only to be grabbed again. He looked at his girl in confusion, knowing Wolf and what just happened she would run inside, go up to her room on the third floor and cry her eyes out, not wanting to see anyone for at least a week.

Wolf intertwined her finger with his and started walking towards the base of Laughing Shadows with her lover in tow. Wolf opened the screeching door with her one free hand, and loudly announced to her fellow gang members;

"Serpent is dead. Laughing Shadows died with him."

xXxXx

Rin woke up with streaks of sunlight dancing on his bed. He had been having the same dream over and over again. Then again, it wasn't a dream. It was simply a memory stained into his mind for all eternity. It had been two years since the event happened. No one, not even Yukio, knew that he was part of a gang.

Rin turned his head to look at the bed across the room to find his brother still sleeping. Rin, quiet as he could, slipped out of the covers and sneaked out of the room.

Kuro jumped out of a random window and trotted beside his tamer. Kuro looked up at his friend to see a dazed look on his face. Wondering why, Kuro asked, only to get no reply. Rin just kept walking, not sure as of where he was going. Soon enough, Rin, to his surprise, opened the door that lead to the roof.

The wind gently blew the morning air as dawn soon approached. Rin walked to the edge of the roof and sat down on the ledge, looking over True Cross. Snapping out of his daze, Rin pulled his phone out of his black shorts. Flipping the cover open, he hit some buttons and a picture appeared on the screen.

The picture was of a girl with waist length black hair with bangs, a red T-shirt, faded jeans, combat boots, and deep emerald eyes.

"I miss you, Wolf..."

xXxXx

Classes droned on and on, and Rin, like always, was asleep. Multiple times the teacher had tried to keep Rin awake by throwing things at him, but to evail, only to have given up. In Rin's case, he was glad. Glade to acusually sleep without the haunting memory roaming around inside his head.

In three days time, it would be the aniversary of Serpents death. Meaning he would have to find a way to skip school, get down to the slums without attracting too much trouble, meet up with the now hand full amount of people that still were proud to say that they were still in Laughing Shadows, even though the gang was basically dead, and go to the place where Serpent was murdered. All in a days work.

A loud ring of a phone woke Rin up to find everyone staring at him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He stared at it for a while wondering whether or not he should answer.

"Are you gonna answer it, or just let it ring?" Bon's annoyed voice called.

"Shut up! I'll answer it, jeez." Rin replied, still staring at the phone.

"Yes, Okumera-kun, put it on speaker." The teacher said, wanting to know what was so important.

'Damn teacher.' Rin thought as he flipped the cover up and put it on speaker. "Hello? You're on speaker..."

"Yo~. It's me." The voice called out. Everyone in the room looked confused, not sure who the caller was. Rin smirked and instantly knew who it was. Crow. Crow was also a member of Laughing Shadows, and his best friend. True he didn't have a lot of friends in the city, or what they called 'light dwellers' in slums, but he did have a few good friends in the slums. Crow was one of them.

"Hey! What's up?" Rin, still smirking, said into the phone.

"Same ol', same ol'. Look, we were wondering if you were gonna show up for the 'event'. Are ya'?" Crow asked. Rin's eyes faltered, but brightened quickly since he was being watched.

"Yeah. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He said, his voice faltering on the last line, hoping no one had noticed.

"Cool. Anyways, that's all. See ya' soon!" And with that final word, Crow hung up.

Silence echoed around the room as Rin shut his phone closed and shoved it in his pocket. After that, Rin rested his head back on the desk and closed his eyes, wondering if everyone would buy the fact that he was 'asleep'.

"Who was 'that'?" Bon said acusingly.

'None of your damn business, rooster.' Rin wanted to shout back, but instead let out a fake snore. The room sighed in defeat, and the teacher went back to the boring lesson. Rin, being a half demon, could hear Shima planning to follow him until he, Rin, would lead him to the so called 'event'.

Rin inwardly smirked at the thought, all he would have to do was lose him in the maze of alleys and then reroute himself to the base. Then again, the slums were dangerous to those who didn't know their way around. Rin mentally frowned, trying to decide what would be the best thing to do.

The bell rang and brought him out of his thoughts. Rin sat up and stretched his muscles. He could feel someone burning into the back of his skull, and could bet money it was one of the arias in training. Rin grabbed his bag and left the room, not bothering to talk to the arias, knowing that they would only ask questions about Crow.

Seeing the day was over, Rin left the cram school and went to the river and leaned against the railing, looking down at the water. Rin pulled out his phone, it seemed like he was on his phone a lot that day, and pulled the picture of Wolf onto his screen once more. Rin hadn't seen his girlfriend in over four months, and since Wolf didn't have a phone, there was no way to contact each other.

A shadow loomed over Rin, and in turn tensed, ready for a fight. Rin saw something pink flash in the corner of his eye, when that something slammed into him and pinned him to the ground, face down. A familiar scent wafted into his nose. Shima.

"Bon! Grab the phone!" Shima yelled. Rin's eyes widened. They could NOT see the picture of Wolf. They would ask to many questions, like; 'where did she live?' How was he supposed to tell them that she lived in the slums in an old gang base?

'What is he hidding?' Shima thought to himself, 'What was so important on that phone?'

A hand reached down and picked the phone up. Rin turned his head to Bon looking down at him, and then, the phone.

Bon's eyes widened. Then he looked away and handed the phone to Shima. Shima's eyes also widened and a smile plastered his face.

"Well, well, well~. Who is this~?" Shima said with a grin that stretched ear to ear, if that was possible.

"None of your damn business!" Rin protested, trying to get out from under his friend.

"Oh~. So you wouldn't mind if I sent this to everyone." Shima asked innocently, but his eyes said differently.

"You-"

"Who is she?" Bon said, still not looking at Rin, Shima, or the phone.

Silence engulfed the bridge while Rin debated whether or not to tell his friends. In the worst situation they would threaten him to tell them everything, which was already kinda happening, or in the best situation they would drop the subject.

Rin let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes, obviously in defeat.

"Let me go, give me my phone, and then I'll talk."

Shima slowly got off of his friend and Rin his phone back. Rin stood up and brushed himself off, and then leaned against railing once more, facing his friends. Rin only said one thing;

"She's my girlfriend."

Silence once again engulfed the bridge as Shima, Bon, and Konekomaru stared at him in shock. While this happened, Rin stood up, and walked away. It was Shima who broke the silence.

"We are so following him. I don't even have a girlfriend."

xXxXx

Stars lit up the night and a cold wind blew through the building, making a chill run through its dwellers. Only three figures stood inside, the rest had left long ago. One of the figures walked over to one of the windows and did something unexpected, it howled. It howled to the moon as if pleading for someone to come home. And it was.

"Shut up, Wolf." One of the figures said in the dark.

"Why should I? You're the one who should shut up, Rock." Wolf said coolly, knowing her friend wouldn't hurt her.

Rock clenched his teeth, knowing that if he hurt her, Demon would most likely knock his lights out.

"Calm down you two, I heard from Demon that he's coming down here for Serpent's 'event'." The third figure said, identified as Crow.

Wolf smiled at the thought of her boyfriend coming back, Rock and Crow smiled as they thought of their best friend. There were only four people left in Laughing Shadows. The others had left or died in fights or had been struck down by a disease. Only four months ago had Demon told them his real name; Rin Okumera.

xXxXx

Rin once again sat up on the roof, over looking True Cross, the city, and in the background, the faint glow of the slums. He lifted his head to look at the moon. Then he heard it, a howl. A howl in which only he could hear because of his demon senses. He knew the howl very well, it was Wolf's.

Rin dipped his head, letting a shadow cover his eyes. He smiled softly, and muttered a few words under his breath;

"I love you, Wolf..."

xXxXx

**A/N: Just telling you, I made Rin's personality different on PURPOSE. If you like my story, then review and I will update faster and then you can figure out why I made Rin a bit different. You can just put :) if liked it, and :( if it sucked. **

**Also, this is my first time writing in this P.O.V. XD**

**Please review! X3**


	2. The Slums, A Fear, And A Knife

**A/N: Ok! In my first chapter, I was using my parent's computer cause my computer broke about a month ago (I still need to fix it). I also noticed that Rin's personality wasn't THAT different, so, I KINDA failed, but oh well. I can usually write a chapter per day, but I've been on a trip for the past two weeks, with no computer...no wifi...no anime...or manga...I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE! *coughs* Anyways, sorry I couldn't update. Also, sorry for my bad writing, I'm only in middle school. Thanks for reading! And thanks to Jazzytiger23 for my first review! Believe me, I was grinning like an idiot for the whole day (yes, a single review makes me happy :D). **

**Disclaimer- I don't own Ao No Exorcist. If I did there would be a second season, but, I don't.**

xXxXx

The next two days went by in a blur, but to Rin, each day was a thousand years. Everyone wanted to know who Crow or Wolf was or how Rin knew them, but just like Yukio hid the fact that he was an exorcist from Rin for years on end, Rin kept a few secrets of his own.

Bon, Shima, and Konekomaru had been trailing Rin like bloodhounds, which was getting on Rin's nerves. The others were simply trying to get a hold of his phone.

xXxXx

While all of this was happening, Rin was starting to make a plan, a plan to skip school the next day. The thought of sneaking out of the dorm at night had crossed his mind, but it wasn't the best plan in history or the smartest, but to Rin, it was worth a shot.

xXxXx

The night was cool with a slight breeze that wafted into the room. The sun had set long ago, and the stars shone brightly in the sky. Rin lied in bed, eyes barely open, silently waiting through the night, waiting till the numbers on his alarm clock hit midnight. Once they did, Rin's eyes opened wider and drifted to his brother's bed, in which slept soundly. Slowly and quietly Rin got out of bed and tip toed out of the room, and closed the door behind him. After the door clicked into the mantel, he broke into a run, speeding up the stairs to the third floor. Once there, Rin slowed to a walk, only to stop at an empty dorm room door. After opening the door, he was greeted with a dusty room, nothing inside except for a heap of clothes in the corner of the room. After stripping down, Rin got changed into a pair of running shoes, gray jeans, a navy blue T-shirt, and a black hoodie. Rin stashed the Kurikara under a dusty floorboard and made sure no one could find it. After getting changed, Rin opened the window and jumped down to the hard ground.

xXxXx

Bon, Shima, Izumo, Konekomaru, Shiemi, and the weird puppet kid (1) had been watching their friend since the time he had went out of his room to the time he had jumped out of the third story window(2). For some reason, Rin was on the move.

The group ran after Rin as he sped through True Cross, the group following him unknown, like a professional. After some time, Rin had stopped at a bus stop and boarded the bus which was to the city boarder, near the slums.

"Why would Rin need to go so close to the boarder?" Izumo thought out loud.

"Who knows? Maybe his girlfriend lives there?" Shima said with a sly grin on his face.

"Moron! What girl would live so close to the boarder? The danger of getting rapped would be extremely high." Bon plainly said.

"Unless she had someone protecting her, someone strong enough that even their presence alone would scare the enemy. Then she would be safe enough to even be in the slums." Konekomaru added thoughtfully, looking down at the ground.

Bon started to shout "That's not pos-"

"It is." Yukio said as he stepped out of the shadows. "It's possible that Rin has been that one strong person protecting her. Every year, on the same day ever since two years ago, Rin would leave the church for a whole night and come back in the morning without a scratch. I would try to follow him every year, but every year I would get lost before I even reached the slums. Don't try to follow him, it's impossible."

"What do you mean the 'slums'?" Shiemi asked innocently, her head tilted to the side.

"Idiot." Izumo started. "The slums are the slums. It's a place were you go if you have a death wish and where girls go to get rapped. The police have already completely given up. Murder happens everyday, and fights start over the silliest things. It's like a different world compared to the city."

"Show off." Bon muttered under his breath, but no one heard him.

"I still say that we go." Shiemi said, confidence in her eyes.

Everyone looked at the blond girl in shock, wondering if she really did have a death wish.

Izumo took out her phone and called a cab. Once in the cab, they sped forward to catch up with the bus, which was long gone. But, fortunately, because of the driver's crazy driving, they had caught up with the bus within a few minutes. The cab stopped right behind the bus as it stopped at the boarder. Bon, who was forced, gave some money to the cab driver and followed the others out of the cab of Hell.

They watched as the bus doors opened and out stepped gangsters, sluts, fighters, orphans, hookers, homeless, and last, Rin. They watched as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and dialed a number. He put the phone up to his ear and said a few words, looked around, and kept talking to the person on the other end. Rin looked around once more, and started to walk to the boarder. The boarder was a thirty foot brick wall with barb wire at the top.

"This is where he lost me every year." Yukio muttered as they hid behind an edge of a building.

Rin squatted down and flexed his leg muscles, powering up, as if about to jump over the wall. Rin said a few more words into the phone and snapped it closed, then shoved it back into his pocket. He looked up at the huge wall, as if to determine how much power he would have to use to go over, and leaped through the air, only to jump low. In one swift movement, Rin stretched his arms forward and dug his hands into the wire. Blood started to trickle down the wall as Rin pulled himself up over the wall. Once up, he jumped over the wall and out of sight.

"Now what?" Shima wondered.

xXxXx

"The slums, huh?" Rin muttered under his breath, smiling to himself. People milled through the street as he walked by himself. His smile disappeared when he looked down at his hands, Wolf was surely going to kill him. Over and over she had told her boyfriend not to go over that part of the wall, since it was barb wired. The side and back walls that confined the slums that were near the more unpopulated area of the city had lower walls and no barb wire. But the front was faster.

The crimson on his hands and wrists kept bleeding. Either he was to let himself heal and get to the base around noon, or he could forget about it and head to the base then, and get to the base around 10:00. Rin pondered the idea, and then decided to take off for the base.

xXxXx

The base of Laughing Shadows(3) was cold and quiet, except for a room on the third floor, in which a soft humming was heard. Wolf lay on top of her bed, wearing a big white T-shirt and hot pink short shorts, cuddling a purple pillow while smiling like an idiot and blushing. Within twenty-four hours, she was going to see Demon.

Three months ago, Demon had called her (on Crow's phone) and told her that he was an actual demon, but only half. He had told her if she didn't believe him and thought he was insane, he would understand if she broke up with him. She had told him that she didn't care what he looked like, only the soul. But honestly, she was scared. Scared that if he was so different she couldn't even tell if it was him or not. Scared that his own soul was different. Scared of herself. Scared of herself that if she would reject him in the end.

A phone rang behind her, causing her to jump. Wolf tensed and slowly reached her hand into her pillow case for her knife. Wolf squeezed the cold hilt of the blade into the palm of her hand. For Wolf, time seemed to have slowed down. Her eyes narrowed and her breathing slowed, her heart pounding and adrenalin flowing. In a flash of black hair she whipping the knife out of the case and pinned her enemy to the ground, the blade pressed against their throat, ready to slash their windpipe at any given second.

Through the dim light, Wolf's eyes widened as she gazed at Crow, smiling, but fear held deep within his eyes. A black cell phone rang above his head. Wolf reached out and grabbed it, the words 'Demon' on the caller ID. Wolf, hope gleaming in her eyes, flipped open the phone and raised it to her ear.

"Hello?" Wolf said hopefully.

"Wolf, is that you? Its me, Demon." Demon's voice called, his voice hung in the air around her.

"Yeah, its me."

"So, um...ah..."

"Is it true?" Wolf rushed, then, the moment the words had raced out of her mouth, she bit her bottom lip, as if bracing for a punch.

"What do you mean?" Demon asked, not sure of the situation.

"Is it true...that you're a demon?"

"...Yeah, I got fangs, pointed ears, and a fuckin' tail." Demon said with a small laugh, trying to make a joke out of it.

Wolf Smiled at the thought, her boyfriend was an elf. "So, Instead of calling you 'Demon', we should start calling you 'Elf'?"

At that, Wolf heard Demon snicker. "Nah, I'll pass. Besides, elves are short, fat, and they live in the north pole. Seriously, I'm average height, skinny, and I live in flippin' Japan!"

Wolf howled with laughter, it wasn't the funniest joke in the world, but, the way he said it was hilarious to her.

"But, seriously, I'm kinda nervous to see you. Are you sure you wanna see me?" Demon said, as if bracing for impact.

"...Yeah, just get your ass over here. I'm tired of waiting." Wolf said with a bit of humor.

Demon laughed, she hadn't heard his laugh in months. Wolf smiled at the thought.

"Okay, okay. I'll get my ass over there. I'll be there in...What time is it?"

Wolf looked at her water-proof watch. "2:34 am."

"So, I'll be there around...9:15."

"Demon~. Your girlfriend has a knife at my throat." Crow said, almost as if he was bored.

"Good. Bye, Wolf. See ya' soon."

"RIN!"

There was a long silence which seemed to go on forever, it was Rin who broke it.

"That's the first time you called me by that name, you okay?" His voice was worrisome, though he tried to keep it hidden.

"Yeah. Bye." Wolf quickly ended the call, shoved Crow out of her room, slammed the door closed, and collapsed onto her bed.

"What's going on? Why did I call him by his real name? Then again, we've been dating for four years now. But...Why?" Wolf whispered to herself as she buried her head into her pillow. Her thoughts swam throughout her mind, as if they had leapt from their rightful place and started to run about.

Absent minded, Wolf started to hum, then that hum turning into a soft song, whispered into the night;

"She never slows down,

She doesn't know why'

But she knows that when she's all alone

Feels like its all coming down

She won't turn around

The shadows are long

And she fears that if she cries that first tear

The tears will not stop raining down

So stand in the rain,

Stand your ground

Stand up when its all crashing down

You stand through the pain, you won't drown

And one day, what's lost can be found

You stand in the rain

She won't make a sound

Alone in this fight with herself

And the fears whispering that if she stands, she'll fall down

She wants to be found

The only way out is through everything she's running from

Wants to give up and lie down

So stand in the rain

Stand your ground

Stand up when its all crashing down

You stand through the pain, you won't drown

And one day, what's lost can be found

You stand in the rain" (4)

A few minutes later, the soft sound of Wolf's snoring filled the room. The sun raised and the chill in the room was slowly warmed.

xXxXx

As Rin weaved through the dark alleyways, and he was closely followed by his friends, who had climbed the boarder while he was on the phone with Wolf, just for the sake of finding out the truth about Rin. As Rin strolled through the passages, his presence alone had made anyone and anything hide in fear. As he thought this as normal, his friends, who were still unknown to him, gawked. The sun had already risen and a large cement building loomed in the distance, cover in blood splotches. Little did the Esquires know, that they were nearing the once best gang base in history of the slums and underground. (5)

**A/N: Yeah. Just noticed. Fairytail Warrior's "Demon's Tail" sounds a lot like mine, the title, I mean. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that.**

**Anyways;**

**(1) Ok. That's it. What is the weird puppet kid's name?**

**(2) In Rin's dorm, how many stories are there?**

**(3) I decided the name Laughing Shadows a few nights before I wrote the first chapter, it was at night, and my window was open. I was pulling my hair out trying to decide on a name for the gang when I heard a loud laughing fit outside. At first, I thought it was God's way of making fun of me. Then I had an idea and called the gang 'Laughing Shadows', thinking I would change it later on, but I didn't. Thank you drunk person who was laughing their head off in the middle of the night!**

**(4) Yahoo! Who knows what this song is? If you figure it out, I'll give you a faster update!**

**(5) Just telling you, you will be told more about the past of Laughing Shadows, why the Boarder was built, how Rin joined the gang, how Rin and Wolf got together, and the past of each member of Laughing Shadows. Don't worry...**

**Anyone who answers: 1, 2, and 4 will earn something. Like a cookie. Or a brownie. Or a battery. Or...something. XD**

**One more thing, if anyone has ANY ideas on the Esquires might have when they find out that Rin is in Laughing Shadows, tell me. Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing for the last chapter, so, please do the same for this chapter!**

**I took eight hours writing this. So hopefully the next chapter goes faster and easier to write, but still good.**

**Again, thanks for reading! Review! More reviews, faster updates!**


	3. A Rabid Wolf And The Doors Of Death

**A/N: Hey! I'm gonna try updating everyday! Wish me luck! I actually have no idea how a real slum is like, so I made one up. **

**Some words you might need to know in the story line:**

**_Light Dwellers_- people who live in the city; despised by people in the slums**

**_Slums_- a place surrounded by a the Boarder, which keeps its inhabitants inside by force, unless they can climb the Boarder**

**_Boarder_- a 30 foot brick wall with barb wire at the top in some places, built by the government to keep the crime rate down, though people who live close to the Boarder are still in a high crime zone**

**_Laughing Shadows_- the once best gang that ever lived, had only one leader, Serpent, in which its members only swore their allegiance to him, and only him. A gang who hides in the shadows. Laughing Shadows is a group of strong fighters or people with unusual abilities that fight to protect their families, without them knowing, or to survive. Only the members of the gang know where its base is, those who find out are 'erased' or killed.**

**_Serpent_- the leader of Laughing Shadows, a foster father to Wolf.**

**There will be more detailed and described words in the next chapter, this is all the information I'm gonna give you so far. Oh! Thank you so much FD, your review cracked me up (the one about Wolf) and also yeah, here's a faster update, since you were the first to answer ALL of my questions! FD and xRuneStone you both get... um...*rummages through pockets*...ah...*remembers that I don't have pockets**goes to refrigerator, pulls out two sodas* You guys get a virtual can of Coke! Thanks for reading everyone!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Ao No Exorcist (Blue Exorcist)**

xXxXx

Rin looked at the time, 9:02 am. Though the sun was up, no light shone into the alleys and passages. He made a sharp turn into a long alley and leaned up against a wall covered in grime and blood, hiding in the shadows. His eyes strained on the entrance he had just come from, waiting to see if anyone had been following him. He had the strange feeling of someone or something was following him, and it had been nagging at the back of his mind throughout the whole night up till then. Just as he had thought, he heard a few pairs of foot steps nearing closer, his electric blue eyes still straining to see his followers. As the foot steps neared closer and closer, Rin tensed waiting for a brawl. The chances of Rin winning a fight one against God knows how many, was extremely unlikely. In the best situation, it was either Crow or Rock, returning from a brawl of their own. In the worst situation, it was gonna be a fight fifty against one. The possibility of it being Wolf was close to none was because every time she had to go anywhere, she would use the rooftops instead of the ground below.

A shadow appeared and Rin pressed against the wall even harder, trying to disappear into the wall and escape his stalkers. As the shadow grew bigger and a more followed, five to be exact. As the shadows neared, Rin slid down and squatted, trying to be less noticeable. A head popped out; Shima's. Rin's eyes widen in horror, _What his he doing here? How did he get over the Boarder?_ Rin thought to himself as he pulled his hood over his eyes.

Shima walked into the alleyway, and stopped next to Rin, looking down the alleyway. Shima waved, as if beckoning someone. If possible, Rin's eyes widened even more, as Yukio, Izumo, Bon, Konekomaru, and Shiemi walked into the alley as well. _Not them too! What are they trying to do, get themselves killed? Who would be an idiot to actually go over the Boarder? Except me. _Rin yelled inside his head, wondering what drove his friends to do such a stupid thing. As Rin stayed where he was, the Esquires had started a conversation.

"Now what? He just disappeared into thin air, and I don't think we can stalk air." Shima wined.

"Stop being such an idiot, people can't disappear into thin air." Izumo reasoned.

"_That's right, now leave. You're not supposed to be here in the first place." _Rin added in his mind.

"Where's Takara?" Bon wondered.

"He went home; I guess he remembered his way back." Shiemi answered.

"_Wait! He was following me too!_" Rin yelled, still in his mind, not wanting to give his position away.

"Does anyone know the way back? School has already started and-" Konekomaru nervously added to the group.

"Shiiiit! Was anyone keeping track where we were going?" Bon shouted.

"So, basically, we're stuck in the slums, one of the most deadly parts of the city, if it's not it's own city now, we don't know where we are, and most likely going to die by nightfall." Yukio reasoned.

"We're gonna die!" Shima yelled.

"_If you wanna live, STOP SCREAMING!" Rin shouted inside._

"How about we go to the street and ask for directions?" Shieme asked shyly.

"Yeah! We can all do that, and all get killed." Bon said sarcastically.

"_Actually, you could ask for directions on the street. As long as you don't ask anyone in the alleys and passageways, you'll be fine." _Rin concluded silently.

"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Shima yelled even louder.

"_Yeah! You're gonna die! Just STOP SCREAMING!"_

"WE'RE GON-"

"Shut up! If you wanna live, STOP SCREAMING YOUR ASS OFF YOU MORON!" Rin finally screamed.

The Esquires looked down at Rin who was glaring at them, this own aura sending them death threats.

"..."

"Now, what are you guys doing here? Why did you follow me? And, do you guys have a death wish?" Rin said, annoyed, and did nothing to hide it either.

"...Well...we have some friends that live here and-" Shima started.

"The only people who live close to that cement building are dead." Rin replied flatly.

"Um..."

"We followed you because we were worried about you, Nii-san!" Yukio pleaded.

Rin stood up and walked over to the group and looked at his brother. "So you followed me? Do you have a death wish?" Rin said, anger burning behind his voice.

"Maybe we do have a death wish, so, you gonna take us to the 'event'?" Izumo accused.

Rin turned away from his brother to look at Izumo, wondering if he said no whether or not they would still follow.

Knowing that they would follow in the end, Rin gave a sigh, as if in defeat. "Fine, you can come. It's your life."

'_What did he mean "It's your life"? Where exactly are we going?"_ Bon wondered, studying his friend.

xXxXx

Wolf woke up to the door on the first floor opening and Demon's voice echoing throughout the building. Wolf ran off the bed and stomped downstairs, forgetting that she was still in her pajamas, once she was on the second floor she bumped into a few walls (1) and continued on. Once she was half way down the stairs, Wolf took a few steps back, and looked into the large mirror shard that hung on the wall. Her hair was a mess. "_What the heck did I do? Go through a rats nest, blown by a leaf blower, and through a wood chipper? How am I gonna face Demon like this?"_ Wolf thought angrily. On the nape of her neck, something caught her eye. Wolf neared the mirror and took a closer look at her neck the words in sharpie said; "_Have fun seeing your boyfriend! From, Crow."_

Wolf ran up to the second story and grabbed the metal baseball bat from the corner and stomped back down stairs to the first floor where she heard Crow's voice. Once she reached the end of the stairs, Wolf zoned in on Crow who was casually talking to her boyfriend. But she was distracted by six unusual people behind Demon. A little voice in her head told her that they were the enemies; another voice said they were friends. She did the reasonable thing and took voice number one's advice.

Once she locked onto her target, the guy that looked like a rooster, she ran over, jumped over a wooden table, used the couch as a spring board, and lunged. Demon, sensing his girlfriend, pushed Crow away and hit the floor, leaving the Esquires speechless and too scared to move out of the crazy girl's way.

Wolf swung down and hit Bon on his temple, knocking him out cold. Wolf hit the ground lightly and took another swing with the bat in the pink haired boy's stomach, while landing the blow, elbowing a girl with weird eyebrows in the gut, her eyes rolling back into head, knocking her out as well. "_Three down, three to go._" Wolf thought with a smirk. (2)

The click of a gun snapped her out of her gleeful thoughts, and a loud gun shot knocked her metal bat out of her hands. Yukio couldn't believe his eyes, his friends were taken out one by one by a girl, and she was smiling. When he shot her bat out her hand her smile had widened. She was like a beast, wanting to spill the blood of her enemies, whether or not she had a weapon didn't matter to her. The look in her eyes told him she had killed before, and she wasn't afraid to kill again.

Wolf stood there, measuring her opponent who had a gun, while she had two fists. She had been trained by Serpent, his training and death would not be in vain. Wolf sped towards Yukio, got behind him in an instant, and back to back in a second. Wolf quickly grabbed behind her for his neck. Once she got a hold of his throat, she threw him over her shoulder, onto the cement. She heard a large crack, and she knew she had broken one of his ribs. A gleeful smile widened to show her own set of fangs.

Konekomaru watched as his Teacher was taken down in five seconds, maximum. He watched in terror as his fellow arias were taken out with a bat, and Izumo with a single elbow. She was beast, and she took to no effort in hiding it. "_Is what the slums are really like? Is this what Rin meant by 'It's your life'? I am I going to die?"_ All of these thoughts crowded Konekomaru's mind.

Wolf neared her next piece of prey, but the urge of killing them was suffocating. Each step she took, the urge built up and up. The only thing that was stopping her was the fact of the one rule that Serpent had made; no killing in the base. She hated that rule. While she fought her inner demons, she stalked over to the bald kid, who shorter than herself. She stopped right in front of him, him looking up at her in terror. Her evil grin reappeared on her face, as she watched her 'prey' stiffen. Wolf raised her fist, and punched him in the jaw. The force of her punch threw him against a cement wall, knocking him out cold.

Wolf turned to her last victim, a blond girl with an alien in her hands and shivering in fear against the wall. In the end, everyone was the same. Everyone feared her in some way, even her own parents had feared her, and left her on the streets. Only four people had not feared her; Serpent, Crow, Rock, and...Demon. At first, when she and Demon had first met, he thought she was pathetic, letting her inner demons consume her so easily.

But, in truth, she knew she was pathetic.

"Nii-chan!" The girl shouted.

Wolf was taken aback when the alien jumped up and grew giant root like things out of its stomach, pushing Wolf back. Through the thick tangle of roots, she saw the blond sigh in relief. "_I wouldn't let your guard down yet, Princess._" Wolf thought as she picked up her bat. Wolf walked up to the giant wall of root and positioned herself just right, took the bat and threw it like a javelin, hitting Shiemi on the temple, successfully knocking her out. The giant wall of root disappeared, and Wolf looked around at the mess she had made.

"Ah~. What a mess~." Crow said as he gently kicked Shima in the head.

"Wolf. You do know that they were my friends, right?" Demon asked her, smirking at the damage.

"Oh." (3)

xXxXx

When the Esquires woke up, the sun was high in the sky and the room that they were in was sweltering. They all were in a cement room with a wooden door that looked like it was rotten in some places.

"Where are we?" Izumo moaned.

"All I remember is some crazy chick swinging a baseball bat like a madman, taking us down one by one." Shima complained as he held his stomach.

"That wasn't a girl, it was a beast!" Konekomaru shouted at his friends.

"Be quiet my head hurts like fuck." Bon complained.

"I don't know if you noticed, but when she was fighting us, she was smiling. Even when I shot the bat out of her hand, she was smiling like a madman." Yukio said, holding his ribs.

"S-she wasn't a beast! She was simply trying to protect her friends. She was lonely, and I believe that's she's nice" Shiemi said with confidence.

Izumo brushed Shiemi's remark, stood up and went to the door, in which a note hung. She read the note out loud for everyone to hear;

"_Good morning. I'm sorry that Wolf knocked you all out this morning. Once you wake up, come down stairs._

_Rock."_

"I vote that we all stay here, where it's all safe from the crazy girl." Shima said raising his hand in vote.

"Nii-san is probably down stairs as well so we shouldn't be afraid." Yukio said, trying to reason with is students.

Once he had gotten all of the Esquires to come down stairs, then there was the part about getting down stairs. They had wandered through the maze of doors and hallways for fifteen minutes, when the Esquires had given up.

"Hey, Bon, what room number is that?" Shima asked, clearly exhausted.

"Its room number 1,452."

The Esquires gawked, until Izumo broke the quiet hallway.

"Just how many rooms are there?"

"2,234." An unfamiliar voice replied. (4)

The group spun around to meet a tall and lanky African American standing behind them wearing a green long sleeve shirt, black shorts, and no shoes or socks.

"Who are you?" Yukio asked, tensed, ready for a fight this time.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna go berserk like Wolf did. The name's Rock." 'Rock' said raising his hands in a sign of surrender.

"I'm-" Shiemi started, but was quickly cut off by Rock.

"We already know who ya' all are, 'kay? Sorry, not trying to be rude or nothin'. You're Demon's friends aren't ya'?" Rock asked, taking a step forward.

"Who do you mean 'Demon'?" Bon asked cautiously.

"Oh, um...I think you call him...ah, 'Rin'." Rock said pushing past the Esquires.

"Why would he be called 'Demon'?" Izumo asked suspiciously.

Rock looked over his shoulder and smirked, as if laughing at their ignorance. "The names 'Demon' or 'Rock' or 'Wolf' are names ya' get in a gang, Rin's gang name is 'Demon'. Once ya' have your gang name, you're stuck with it for life. The only way to get rid of it is death. Now, if you Light Dwellers haven't figured it out by now, I'll spell it out for ya'. Demon is part of Laughing Shadows, and there's nothin' ya' can do about it."

Yukio's and the Esquires faces paled, except for Shima's, who burst out laughing, thinking it was all a joke. His laugher was the only sound in the hollow hallway.

"Ya' think I'm joking? Is reality so hard for you, Light Dweller?" Rock glared, not liking the fact that he wasn't taken seriously.

Shima's laughter stopped and his face paled, only now the pieces had clicked in their mind. The way Rin fought, his sometimes deadly and serious glare, his natural instinct that they all thought of his normal demon behavior. It was all from the slums. It was Yukio who snapped out of this trance.

"What's Laughing Shadows?"

Rock's face fell and he turned his head away. "You'll find out at the 'event' tonight. C'mon, everyone's waiting down stairs."

xXxXx

They walked in silence, following Rock through the maze of hallways. Once downstairs, the Esquires found Rin, the crazy chick wearing hot pink short shorts and a big white T-shirt, and a guy with spiky bleached hair wearing jeans and a black T-shirt. And strangely, to the Esquires, the three were sitting on the couch having a conversation; the crazy chick DIDN'T have her metal baseball bat at hand. It was simply in the corner. Covered in blood. With a chain around it and locked to the wall. (5)

"Yo. Look who I brought with me to the dinner table." Rock announced.

Everyone looked over their shoulder to see the Esquires, except the crazy chick gave them a cold glare instead of smile or an 'I'm sorry'.

"You finally awake?" Rin asked with a smirk.

"Shut up, blueberry." Bon shouted back.

Rin smirked. "You're in my territory, now." And at this, the Esquires paled again.

The crazy chick stopped glaring once Rin looked at her, only when he looked away she started glaring again.

"_She's gonna kill me, I know it! Then again, this chick is pretty hot..._" Shima thought, looking Wolf up and down.

Rock leaned close to Shima's ear and whispered "She's taken."

"So~. Who's up for some early dinner? ...Without anyone killing each other." The guy with spiky hair asked.

Everyone raised their hands except for the crazy chick. Rin, with his free hand, took hand and raised it for her; the crazy girl obviously didn't like the Esquires. Everyone followed Rock into a room that looked somewhat like a kitchen with a dinning room added on. Rin and the crazy chick stayed in the living room, Rin saying that he needed to talk to 'Wolf'. A few minutes after the Esquires sat down and Rock and the spiky haired guy started to make the meal and loud scream was heard from the living room, then Rin came in, Wolf over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. Wolf was screaming her head off, kicking, and hitting Rin's back as hard she could.

"What did you do now, Demon?" The spiky haired guy asked with a chuckle, evil glinting in his eyes.

"Shut up, Crow. It's just that she didn't want to come to dinner, so-"

"So ya' picked her up against her will and dragged her here." Rock cut off.

Rin used his free hand to pull a chair out and dropped Wolf into the chair. (6) Wolf blew a few strands of hair out of her face and crossed her arms over her chest in defeat, but kept a wall up between herself and her boyfriend. Everyone ate in silence as the Esquires looked at Rin, wondering if it was really true about him being in a gang.

It was Yukio who broke the tense atmosphere.

"How could you, Nii-san!" Yukio yelled, finally snapping, getting out of his chair.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"How the hell could you keep the fact that you were in a gang from me? Even Shiro?" Yukio said, out raged.

"Oh, and now you know how if feels to be left out on a secret! Fifteen years! Fifteen years you kept the fact from me that I was a demon. Fifteen years you kept the fact that you were an Exorcist! Just like you, I can keep my fair share of secrets, can't I? Or is that not allowed anymore?" Rin shouted back, getting out of his chair as well.

"But-"

"Shiro knew what I was doing since I was in elementary! He knew what I was doing and he knew that there was no stopping me. The only person, who didn't know, was you."

Yukio's face fell. Reality crashing down.

"Laughing Shadows is the type of gang that accepts and scouts for people with strong fighting skills or unusual abilities. Its members fight to protect their family, mainly without their loved ones knowing, or they simply fight to survive. Demon was fighting to protect you, and the church. He was fighting everyday, laying his life on the line for you, and the only thing you can do is yell at him. Because of your brother, you had been living life easily, and when you did get in a fight, who was it who always fought for you? Demon. He has done things that you can't even think of, he's taken down rival gangs to corrupt underground organizations by himself for you, and you only blame him. Now, how do feel, Light Dweller?" Wolf said coldly glaring up at Yukio from her seat.

The Esquires mouths dropped while Yukio looked at his brother and Wolf in astonishment, and Rin looked at Yukio, hate and betrayal burning deep within his eyes. Crow and Rock observed the situation while eating their food.

"So~. Demon~. How about you tell them everything, eh~?"

Rin sighed and sat back down, obviously in defeat.

"Fine. I guess it started in my first year of middle school..."

xXxXx

**A/N: Hey! Don't you love cliff hangers? I don't! So I'll try to update tomorrow. Hopefully, though there is an 85% chance of me updating tomorrow. **

**Anyways;**

**(1) Ok. Ya know when you wake up in the morning and you get out of bed WAY to fast and all of a sudden black spots swam in your eyes, yeah, that's what happened to Wolf**

**(2) Yeah! When I wrote this I was literally saying "Let's see, Bon, Shima, and Izumo are gone...lets make Yukio break a rib or something...now lets get rid of Konekomaru..." Yeah...you see I tried to fight my inner demons...and I kinda failed...now me and my inner demons are on the same side...yeah, did I forget to mention that Wolf's bat was METAL!**

**(3) I was smiling like a madman when I wrote Wolf knocking out all of the Esquires one by one. So! How does if feel to be taken down by a girl? *Bon groans* Good.**

**(4) Did I mention that this base is HUGE?**

**(5) Ya know in Soul Eater how Maka always has a book on hand and Maka Chops Soul all the time...well, for Wolf, instead of a book she has a metal baseball bat that she fights with...yeah. Now you know wear I got the idea from.**

**(6) Rin was kinda being a jerk to Wolf because Wolf, first attacked his friends without knowing the full story (let alone the fact that they were friends), and second, didn't even say "I'm sorry" to any of the Esquires.**

**Okay, truth be told, I think I like Wolf out of ALL the characters I've weaved into the storyline so far. Their will be more. Just telling you. The plot WILL thicken in the next chapter or two, I promise. How Rin joined Laughing Shadows, how Rin and Wolf got together, and Crow, Rock, and Wolf's past is revealed in the next chapter. Please read and review! Thanks! **


	4. The Truth, A Corpse, And A Challenge

**A/N: Hey! I'm really sorry! I said I was going to update very day, but I'm STILL on my parent's computer and mine is STILL broken! I actually have no idea how a real slum is like, so I made one up. Also, I only posted the first chapter two weeks ago and it has a lot of views, so I'm really happy. I want to thank everyone for giving me support, and I'm surprised you're still reading my story this far. Congadulations! (oh yeah, if you don't like gore and you're VERY scared of it, you've been warned. XD )**

**Some words you might need to know in the story line:**

**_Light Dwellers_- people who live in the city; despised by people in the slums**

**_Slums_- a place surrounded by a the Boarder, which keeps its inhabitants inside by force, unless they can climb the Boarder**

**_Boarder_- a 30 foot brick wall with barb wire at the top in some places, built by the government to keep the crime rate down, though people who live close to the Boarder are still in a high crime zone**

**_Crime Zone-_ a five mile radius surrounding the Boarder. Where crime rate is still high.**

**_Laughing Shadows_- the once best gang that ever lived, had only one leader, Serpent, in which its members only swore their allegiance to him, and only him. A gang who hides in the shadows. Laughing Shadows is a group of strong fighters or people with unusual abilities that fight to protect their families, without them knowing, or to survive. Only the members of the gang know where its base is, those who find out are 'erased' or killed.**

**_Serpent_- the leader of Laughing Shadows, a foster father to Wolf.**

**_Wolf-_ Demon's girlfriend. Wolf is fifteen years old, and is an orphan, her parents dumped her onto the streets when she was four and they didn't look back. Serpent picked Wolf up off the streets when she was six, and by then she had completely forgotten her name. Serpent named her 'Wolf' by the way she fought and acted.**

**_Crow- _Demon and Rock's best friend. Crow is sixteen years old. Serpent was also a foster father to Crow, who had found him in an alleyway while on patrol with his underlings. Crow was covered in blood, and several scars on his body. Crow joined Laughing Shadows at the age of eight.**

**_Rock- _Crow and Demon's best friend. Rock is fourteen years old. Has no living relatives or friends in his homeland. Rock joined Laughing Shadows at the age of nine, he joined because Crow was there, who had helped survive in the slums countless times.**

**_Demon- _Demon is Rin's name in Laughing Shadows, and was Laughing Shadows last member to join. Rin joined so he could protect Yukio and the church at the same time. Because of this, the church never got robbed, broken into, or damaged. Rin fought against rival gangs and corrupted underground organizations to protect his brother, and the church, since they lived in the Crime Zone. **

**Disclaimer- I do not own Ao No Exorcist (Blue Exorcist)**

**xXxXx**

"Fine. I guess it started in my first year of middle school..."

-_Flashback-_

The sky was dark and gray, it was about to rain soon. The passageway was littered with bodies, blood dripping down into scarlett pools. A single person stood among the bodies, wiping sweat off of his brow. A distant call of thunder and the rain started to fall in heavy droplets. A dark figured walked calmly to the fighter. The figure cupped her hands around his face, the teenager not sure about the situation. They stood there for a while, then, after the next clap of thunder, the figure kissed him. Rin's eyes widen in shock, as the figure kissed him. Rin pushed the figure away and rubbed his mouth on his sleeve in discust. The figure's hood fell off, and a girl with shoulder length black hair, wearing a yellow T-shirt under a navy blue hoodie, ripped jeans, and combat boots. The on thing that really caught Rin's attention was her deep emerald eyes. They held nothing, no emotion, no evil, no hate, and no happines. Her eyes were empty. Most of the girls he knew held emotions that were clearly seen.

The girl smirked at his reaction, but quickly fell when the bodies around them got up, and got into fighting position. Rin looked at the girl, still no emotion, not even a bit of fear. Before he could even move, the mysterious girl ran forward, towards the enemy. She pulled a bloody bat out from under the hoodie, and swung, an evil and crazed grin on her face, but still no emotion in her eyes. Rin stood there, not even fighting, watching the girl kill the enemy. Sure, he was in the slums at the moment. But it didn't matter.

The girl looked over at the so called 'feared and unbeatable' Demon of the slums, her grin still plastered on her face. Hate was deep in his eyes.

"You're pathetic." Was the only words that escaped his lips.

The girl's face fell in horror, why didn't he fear her?

"You don't even fight your demons, you're simply pathetic." He said, then he walked away. Just before he was out of earshot, she said;

"My name's Wolf. Nice meeting you, Demon of the Slums."

_-A few days pass-_

Rin walked through the a passageways, taking a shortcut to the Boarder. The sun would rise in a few hours, and needed to be home before anyone noticed his absence.

"Demon of the Slums, am I correct." A called next to him. In the corner of Rin's eye he saw a man leaning against the wall. A few other people, more like teenagers, surrounded him. In other words, if it came down to a fight, Rin would most likely lose, though the numbers did not bother him, it was the aura of the man that messed with his mind. It felt like his lavender eyes were piercing into his skull, reading all of his thoughts. The man sensed his discomfort;

"Don't worry, I haven't come here for a fight, I just want something?"

"What?"

"I want your skill. Your talent. You fight by yourself, it must be tiring. Fighting everyday in the slums, then you head back home like it was nothing. Join us. You already do too much, your body will break down soon if you keep fighting like this. Join us, and you can live an easier life. You can-" Serpent said, convincingly.

"I'm not supposed to live an easy life, I never will. I will never get tired of fighting, and my body will never break down. I am a demon." Rin said, casting a shadow over his eyes.

"Well, that's depressing. Either way I want your skill. I want your fighting force, I want your pure power!" Serpent said, but to Rin, he knew he had another motive.

"What you want and need is too different things. And, my 'skill' is not for sale." Rin said, taking a few steps forward.

"Do you know who I am?" Serpent said, smirking, thinking that his own words would stop Rin from moving. Though, Rin just kept walking, not looking back.

"Nope, and I don't want to." Rin said, waving airily.

Once Rin or the 'Demon of the Slums' disappeared into the shadows, Serpent chuckled, his plan had finally been set into action.

His plan had only one motive, train the best fighters in the slums, and then to take out the Boarder. The Boarder was built with Serpent inside, now unable to get over the wall to get to his family. His own daughter and son would be each turning thirteen, that year, the same age as Wolf.

_-A few more days later-_

"_Shit. What have I gotten into now? Just, what did I do?"_ Rin thought, as he stared at the sky, only now the sun was rising. Yukio would be awake soon, and notice that his older brother was not in bed where he should be.

Rin's chest heaving, and his body battered. He stood up slowly, he had been fighting non-stop for two years now, it was about time actually that his body would break down. The weird guy he had met was right. A few more days of this and he would have to sped a week of recovery. In that single week, anything could happen.

"Will you join us now?" A voice called, a voice that belonged to Serpent.

"Never. I am not anyone's property."

"I know that you've been fighting for two years straight years, and no human would be able to do that. You have the strength, the will, the speed, the toughness, and the patience to be in Laughing Shadows. I'm Serpent, leader of Laughing Shadows." Serpent gave a croocked smile while Rin glared.

"I don't care who you are, and I don't care if you're a gang leader. It's best you stay away from me, you'll get hurt." Rin muttered with hate, trying to walk, using a wall as support.

"How do you know that I'll get hurt?"

"Everyone does. I'm a demon." Rin gasped as he held his chest.

"Join us. We can help you. Laughing Shadows will accept you with open arms."

"Ugh- I said I don't want to join you, and that's my final answer. I don't need help." Rin grunted, pratically on his knees now.

"It looks like you do though, you can't even walk. I'll take you home." Serpent said, thinking that if he could get Rin to trust him, maybe he would join his gang.

"_Demon of the Slums, you are the first person ever to decline my offer, not once, but twice. Who are you? __What__ are you?" _Serpent thought with a thoughtful look on his face as he watched the boy try to get up.

Serpent hoisted Rin up and put his arm over his shoulder. As they walked, Rin muttered directions once in a while. Once they got to Rin's destination, Serpent was staring up at the giant Boarder.

"_What! Is this boy insane? We walked over two miles and he wanted to do it by himself! And now he wants to climb the highest point of the Boarder, without even a rope? He really is a demon!" _Serpent thought, looking at 'Demon of the Slums' in awe as he struggled to get out of Serpent's grip.

Though Rin was weak at the moment, he still had too get home. Once he had finally gotten out of Serpent's grasp, Rin squatted down, sweating, and with Serpent watching, jumped as high as he could, and got over the Boarder with ease.

"Thanks for the help, old man. Either way, I will not join your gang, even if my life depended on it." Rin said, and then jumped over to the other side, disappearing from sight.

Silence hung in the air, then Serpent noticed. "HEY! I'M NOT OLD! I'M ONLY IN MY THIRTIES!" (1)

-_End of flashback-_

"So, how did Rin join?" Shiemi asked, fully into the story.

"Well, during the time Serpent was tormenting Demon, I had asked Demon out." Wolf said as if it was nothing.

"And he said yes?" Shima said, still upset that it was Rin who stole his next 'target' to hit on.

"Nope! He said no and crushed my heart. He said he didn't even know me. So, we started hanging out. A few months later we were dating, and Demon joined Laughing Shadows because of me." Wolf said happily, with a smile.

Everyone stared at her in shock, the way she had said that Demon had crushed her, she sounded too happy. What kind of girl is happy that she gets rejected by the guy she loves?

Wolf got up from the table and cleared every ones dishes with the help of Demon. While Rin scrubbed the table, Wolf washed the dishes, Crow polished and cleaned a knife covered in blood (2), and Rock watched TV in the living room, the Esquires had nothing to or knew what to do.

"So, um, Crow, what's your real n-name?" Konekomaru asked, not meeting his elders eyes. (3)

"...Don't got one." Crow said, chipping off blood, in chunks.

"What do you mean 'Don't got one'?" Bon asked leaning forward a little.

"It means that he simply doesn't have a name." Rin said, leaning over the table to reach their side of the table to scrub.

"When I was young, I was abused. I was abused by my own parents until I was eight years old. At eight, I was tipped over the 'edge' and went insane. When I 'woke up' I was covered my parents blood, my mother's head was ripped off and in my hand, my father's heart in my other. I wandered the streets until Serpent found me and brought me in." Crow explained, a shadow cast over his eyes.

There was a long silence that drifted through the room, except for the running of water and scrubbing tables. It was Rock who broke the quietness of the room, just as he was walking in.

"Pack up and let's head out, we're gonna be late." Rock said in a hurry, going through another door across the room. Rin sighed and headed upstairs, Wolf, Crow, and the Esquires following, though the group had no idea what was going on.

As they headed up to the third floor, Crow departed from the group on the third floor, entering room number 2,217.

"All rooms are labled with a number, the only room you may never go in is room number 2,234." Rin announced.

"And why not?" Shima asked.

"Because, that's a special room. If you feel like sleeping in a dead man's bed, fine by me." Wolf informed then, a smirk playing on her lips.

They were still standing outside Crow's room when Wolf gave them their room numbers;

"Anyways, Yukio, you're in room number 2216, right next to Crow." The numbers 2216 were written in sharpie years ago, the numbers its self barely there. Yukio took out a sharpie and rewrote it, making stand out. Before Yukio could open the door, Crow came out, without a shirt, and told everyone to turn around. Crow opened Yukio's room door and walked in. Inside was a old mattress, a desk, and a moldy rug. Crow went over to a dark corner of the room and picked up a corpse, its skin rotting and his eye balls were missing, for a reason only the small gang knew, it's clothes were shredded and dirty. A knife was in the corpse's heart. Crow pulled out the knife, and swung the body over his shoulder and walked to the window (remember, the windows don't have any glass in them, so they're not really windows.), and threw the corpse out like it was nothing and this was completely normal. He walked back out of the room and told everyone it was ok to turn around, then went back to his room to finished changing.

"What happened?" Shiemi asked, head tilted to the side.

"Nothing!" Rin said quickly, too quickly, which earned him glares from the Esquires.

"Yeah...um, Bon, your room is 2215, and Shima, your room is 2214." Wolf continued. "Shiemi you get 2213 and Izumo you have 2218. And Konekomaru, you have 2219. As you can tell Crow's room is 2217. Rock's room is 2220, next to Konekomaru. Demon's room is 2221 and mine is 2222." And with that being said, Wolf left for her room, leaving her boyfriend and the Esquires alone in the hallway.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I guess Wolf is still mad at you guys. Good luck." Rin said, not looking at anyone in the eye.

"What exactly did we do to set her off, we didn't do anything. She was the one who attacked us, she's the one to blame!" Izumo said accusingly.

"Actually, you trespassed into the base without her knowing. This place has been her home since she was six. Her parents abondoned her on the streets, and left her for dead. They didn't even look back at her. For two years she survived, then Serpent found her and took her in. He's the one who named her 'Wolf'."

"But why 'Wolf'?" Shiemi asked.

"By the way she acted and fought. I think you noticed, but she fights like a beast, never letting her prey escape her. Once you are her target, then there is no stopping her. Serpent trained her for years, turning her into beast, and he didn't even know it." Rin said sadly, his eyes softening.

"Who is Serpent, anyways?" Bon asked.

At this Rin stiffened. He turned around started to walk down the hall to his room. "There's a pair of clothes in each room, put them on and wait in the hall. I'll help you get downstairs. If you have a problem with you room get me or Crow." And with that he walked into his room next to Wolf's.

xXxXx

As Wolf got changed she pulled on combat boots, gray jeans, a black T-shirt and a black leather jacket with the letters LS on the back. On the design, the letters cast a shadow that formed a skull, laughing, blood dripping from its mouth. This was the outfit of all members of Laughing Shadows.

As Wolf laced up her boots she sung a song quietly to herself;

"_As much as I'd like the past not to exist_

_It still does_

_And as much as I'd like to feel like I belong here_

_I'm just as scared as you_

_I have nothing left_

_And all I feel is this cruel wanting_

_We've been falling for all this time_

_And now I'm lost in paradise_

_Run away, run away_

_One day we won't feel this pain anymore._" (4)

Wolf stopped when she heard her door open and Shiemi came in. A scowl insteantly formed on Wolf's face. Shiemi flinched.

"I-I'm sorry!" Shiemi said, bowing.

Wolf's scowl was replaced with a look of disbelife. "W-why are you sorry?"

Shiemi straightened out. "B-because we trespassed into your territory without you permission! I felt really bad about this time-"

"_Did I hit her on the head too hard?"_ Wolf wondered.

"-And I hope we can be friends!"

Wolf bursted out laughing, doubling over. While Shiemi looked confused and asked her what was so funny.

"Y-you!" Wolf said between laughs. "Friends! No ones asked me that!"

"Why not?"

Wolf stopped laughing and stood up straight, an evil smirk on her face. "Do you know _what_ I am? I'm a killer, a murder. Everyone, including Demon, has killed at least once. So, here's an idea. Before you start being friends with someone, know who they really are. I am no exception." An with that said, Wolf strode out of her room, leaving Shiemi there, wide eyed.

Shiemi turned around, determination blazing. _"I care if you're a murder! I'm gonna be friends with you, Wolf-san!"_

xXxXx

The night was cold, but Esquires felt nothing. They too had been given a leather jacket, with the design LS, which branded them as one of the members. The passages were cramped so they walked in single file, Rin taking the lead. The air was quiet except for the sounds of combat boots hitting the ground. After another turn, the gang stopped. They just stood there, not making a sound, looking at a wall. The Esquires looked at the too, not sure as of why, that was until they saw it. A stain of crimson stained the wall and the ground. Horror filled the Esquires eyes and sadness filled the others.

"_No way. No. This can't be the 'event'!_" Shima thought.

"You get it now? Serpent, who you've heard so much about, is dead. And this is where he died. His resting place. His body was eaten by rats. Since the Boarder was built, he was never able to see his family again. Welcome to the Slums." Rin said sorrowfully.

"A place where you can get in, but can't get out." A voice said, drawing everybody's attention.

"Show ya' self! Coward!" Rock yelled into the darkness.

A figure stepped out, he was in his early twenties, wearing a white tank top which showed his arms, which were cover in tatoos, blue jeans and running shoes. His brown hair went down his back in a braid.

"I honestly never knew that there were actual members of Laughing Shadows that were still alive! Eh~, it looks like you have six members too many. Are they temporary?" The man sneered.

"And if they are?" Rin said, glaring at his enemy, waiting for a fight.

"Oh~. Demon of the Slums, Crow of Haunting Death, Rock of the Underground, and Wolf of Chaos, am I correct? The youngest members of LS, but also the strongest." He said, theatning.

"And if we are?" Crow shouted.

"Then I, the leader of the now top gang, challanges you to a fight."

"Anytime! When?" Wolf spat.

"In one month, at the base Bloody Lucifer."

"We accept, and when do come, we're gonna rip your throats out, one by one." Wolf said aggressivly.

"It'll be fun, then."

xXxXx

**A/N: Ok. I did say that there was an 85% chance that I was gonna update yesterday, I just forgot that God hates me and he loves messing up my life. So, no promises that I'll update tomorrow, it just depends on my damn luck.**

**Anyways;**

**(1) Ok. I got the idea from Black Cat, an anime (you should watch, it's awesome), when Train Heartnet's nick name for Sven is 'Old man'. So~, yeah, now ya know.**

**(2) His knife is covered in blood because he killed a few people a few days ago or something, you make something up.**

**(3) Remember when Rock told the Esquires that 'Crow' was Crow's gang name, not his real name, Konekomaru was just wondering what it was. Just tellin'.**

**(4) Yeah! Who knows what this song is! Faster update!**

**Truth be told, I might change the P.O.V. to Rin, tell me if I should or shouldn't. I don't know. I didn't explain Rock's past yet, but it will be reviled. Yeah... the 'event' was a mourning for the death of Serpent. Please review! I still wanna thank everyone for reading this far (if you've decided that you hate, and don't want to read it any more, I completely understand.) For those of you who want to keep reading it, thank you! **


	5. Stupidity And A Lost Light Dweller

**A/N: I'm back! Yahoo! And also I would like to thank everyone for reading. The story alone has 1,300 hits! Yahoo! *fist pumps* *reminds myself of Black Star from Soul Eater* *laughs head off* *falls off chair* Ow. That hurt...oh well! I don't care! Maybe I should shut up and let you read the chapter...yeah...**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Ao No Exorcist**

xXxXx

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I don't know!" Wolf screamed.

"Well, you should have!" Crow screamed back.

Everyone was in the dining room, sitting at the table, a tense atmosphere hung in the air. Crow and Wolf were walking around the table yelling at each other. Rock and Rin were just sitting there, not moving to stop the fight. Yukio, Izumo, Bon, Shima, Shiemi, and Konekomaru were watching them, not sure of what was going on.

'The crazy chick is going to rip his head off any second! Wait for it...' Shima thought, watching for the moment that Wolf would reach out and literally rip Crow's head off.

"Just shut up, Crow! You would've done the same!" Wolf yelled.

"No! I wouldn't! Do you know what you just did?" Crow spat, his voice wearing out.

"Shut up!" Bon cut in. "I don't know what's going on and I don't care!"

"Can it, Light Dweller!" Wolf shouted.

"Stop it!" Rin shouted, and Crow and Wolf went quiet. The Esquires stared in shock.

"He's right; we just need a plan...and a miracle." Rock said, fading out at the end.

Crow and Wolf sat down, and Rin laid his head on the table. Yukio sighed and asked Rock for the current situation.

"Well, it's worse than ya' think. Cause Wolf accepted the fight, we are now going blindly into a fight that will be a 4 vs. 2,500. Even if we had all of Laughing Shadows members still alive and well, we would still be out matched."

"It doesn't matter; Bloody Lucifer will most likely use underhanded methods, even if it is degrading." Rin cut in.

"Good job lightening the mood." Bon said.

"Shut up, rooster!"

"Blueberry!"

"Shut up! Both of you!" Wolf snarling.

From then on, everyone pitched in ideas making a plan of assault, though Laughing Shadows idea of just barging into the base right through front door was a plan, Yukio did not. So, it was more like Yukio was doing the planning and everyone was listening. After the plan was made, the subject of being out numbered was quickly brought up.

"So, any ideas?" Yukio asked.

"I guess I could go to the local jack of all trades and see what dirt they got on Bloody Lucifer." Crow said.

"Demon and Wolf could go around and look for some guys that live in the area." Rock suggested, earning a glare from Wolf and a surprised look from Rin, since he had just been pulled into the situation.

"You will?" Yukio asked, surprised.

"No wa-"

"Sure." Rin smiled, showing his fangs.

xXxXx

After a while, everyone had slowly gone up to their room for bed. Once Rin going to up the stairs, Yukio stopped him. Rin told Wolf to head up without him. Once Rin turned back around to look at his little brother, he met his intense gaze.

"What is it, Yukio?"

"Rin, about the member thing, I was wondering...if I-"

"You don't need to join LS. You're helping me become am exorcist, so, we're even." He smiled, and continued up the stairs.

Yukio grabbed his brother's hand, but Rin just slipped out of his grasp, a shadow over his eyes.

"This time, things are in over your head, Yukio. It'll turn out fine in the end, don't worry."

Yukio looked at his brother in shock, as Rin trudged up the stairs to the third floor. Yukio looked at ground, glaring. He hated how he felt so useless. He looked back up to where Rin had just been moments ago, determination in his eyes. Little did he know that he was being watched by an unseen pair of eyes, watching his every move.

Yukio stormed off into the opposite direction, towards the door. Yukio heaved it open and hoped no one had heard the loud screech of the opening and closing of the door. He walked out of the hidden passage and into the main alley. He turned left and walked deeper into the slums, quickly getting lost.

"You lost, Light Dweller." A voice said above.

Yukio snapped his head up and put a hand on his gun, not that it would help much, since he only had demon repelling bullets in the chamber.

"Calm down, Light Dweller. It's me." The voice said.

Yukio squinted and saw Wolf on the roof tops, grinning down at him, purely amused at his actions.

"Why should I trust you?" Yukio shouted.

"Shut your mouth, Light Dweller! Do you plan to get yourself killed! This isn't the city, this is not your world. And, for your question, no, you shouldn't trust me." Wolf smiled.

"Why not?" Yukio asked, his hand still on his gun.

"I am a wolf. As long as you are close to anyone in LS, you should keep your guard up, even Demon."

"I don't understand. What makes me and you so different? We both human blood in our veins. Correct me if I am wrong, but, on the inside, we are the same." Yukio said.

"Human blood? From your brother has told us, you are only half human, the other half is...what was it? Oh yes, half demon. You are the same as your brother, except that Rin is different. He has a sword to suppress his powers, you do not. You have a gun, and you cannot control your powers." Wolf smiled as she jumped down.

Yukio raised his gun and set his site on Wolf. Wolf laughed, but it was more like a howl. Her howl silenced everything within a mile, causing shiver to go up Yukio's spine. Yukio loaded his gun and Wolf laughed harder.

"How do you know all that?" Yukio ordered.

"Once again, your brother has a voice, he can use it. Rin is not as childish as you think. He is smart. He knows his was through the streets like a pro. Stop thinking so little of your brother, Light Dweller." Wolf said, looking at Yukio in the eyes.

Yukio was lost for words. First, Rin couldn't have told her everything. He didn't even know that he couldn't control his powers, could he? Yukio shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Why are you not running, I'm a demon."

"And? You forget, my own boyfriend is a demon as well. Honestly, we all thought it was a bit weird that Rin could go on for weeks on end fighting and not get tired, we just didn't say anything. Rin is Rin. What he is on the inside is what really matters." Wolf smirked.

"_Then again, I was the one who was afraid of him before he got here_." Wolf thought.

"I have one more question; why are you calling Rin by his name now? Not 'Demon'." Yukio asked, slowly putting his gun away.

"...We should go. Follow me." And with that, Wolf walked off, Yukio quickly following.

After a few turns, Yukio started asking questions again.

"What do you need to be in LS, exactly."

"You need to be as strong as a blood thirsty demon, as fast as a wolf when hunting its prey, to have the stealth of a crow as it flies, to be as tough as a solid rock. To be as brave and fearless as a demon, to have the stamina of a wolf as it travels, to have the patience of a crow as it watches it's next victim, and to have will as strong and unbreakable as a rock. That is what it takes to be a member of LS." Wolf said, her eyes darting around.

"Explain to me again, why did Laughing Shadows fall again?" Yukio asked, looking Wolf as she turned another corner.

"Most of our members were too loyal to Serpent, and if someone else did that the spot as the leader, they would not be respected. Over time, we were ambushed in our own base, and in every one of those ambushes, many people died. Once Demon was old enough, he decided to work, wanting to help us, but instead, went to True Cross. Four months ago, he told me everything." Wolf said, turning right into another alley.

"_That's about the same time he started cram school_." Yukio thought.

"In four months, Laughing Shadows now have all of their members under one roof. It's been hard, but now that Demon is back, he might be able to save us." Wolf continued.

"Once again, explain."

"Light Dwellers are so stupid sometimes." Wolf muttered. "Crow, Demon, Rock, and I, are, or were, Serpent's right hand men. We were even stronger than all of the gang put together, that is, if we work together."

"That means," said Yukio "if Rin leaves, Laughing Shadows will weaken?"

"Yes, and when the next ambush comes, one of us will die."

Yukio stopped in his tracks. Something was wrong with Wolf, but he couldn't place it. Something was just..._different. _

"Wolf...what did you do when you first saw us?" Yukio asked, his voice unwavering.

"What are you talking about? I walked up to you and greeted you like any normal person. Why, you hit your head?" Wolf smirked, but fear was in her eyes.

"Where are we?" Yukio asked, edging away slowly.

"Calm down, Yukio." Wolf said, smiling.

"That's the problem, you're not Wolf." Yukio said, pulling out his gun again.

"Oh~, what tipped me off~?" She smiled.

'Wolf' pulled off her wig and fell to the ground, revealing bright pink short hair. She tugged off her black hoodie, showing a black T-shirt with the words 'Bloody Lucifer' in silver gothic letters on the chest.

"Two things. First, Wolf didn't walk up to us, she attacked us. Second-"

"I never told the real Wolf Yukio's name." A familiar voice sounded.

Yukio spun around to the shadows, a dark figure leaning against the wall. He stood up, and walked into the light. Yukio's jaw dropped as he looked at Rin, covered in blood. The thing that surprised Yukio was, the blood on Rin, wasn't his.

"Demon~. Long time no see~! How's Serpent~? Nice and dead I hope?" She said, grinning evilly.

"Yeah, nice and dead. Just the same he has been for the last two years, just like how you left him. But, to me, it looks like you'll be joining him." Rin glared.

"You can't do that! I have men all around us! You'll be the one dead!" She shouted, shaking and wide eyed.

Yukio didn't know what was going on. He didn't know whether his brother was real or not. Rin smiled, and the girl backed away.

"Yukio, look away." Rin said calmly.

"Why? Nee-san!" Yukio shouted.

"Get behind me, and turn around."

"Why?!"

"You don't want to see this." Rin said, glaring now at his younger brother.

**xXxXx**

**A/N: Ok, I know it's REALLY short, but, at least I'm done with my writer's block! Honestly, I wanted this to be 15 chapters long, but, at the pace I'm going, it's going to be longer. Just telling. School is about to start. Ugh. But at least I'll publish better chapters because I'm going into advanced English this year. Yay...not. I heard that the teacher I have is heartless, cruel, and just plain mean on homework. Hopefully they're just rumors (my gut is telling me that they aren't). Anyways, no foot notes. But I'm still disappointed that this is only 2,000 words long. I'll publish the next chapter as fast as I can, that is, if my luck is good. Why is God so against me!...then again, I don't go to church, I don't pray (unless I'm in a life or death situation), I don't read the bible, I swear at school, and I don't do my chores. Oh. **

**Hopefully you liked it, I kinda strayed off from where I wanted it to go, but, hey, I don't care! It'll turn out fine in the end (hopefully). XD**

**Thanks for reading! R&R!**


	6. A Kill And The Pulling Of A Trigger

**A/N: Ok! I got some awesome reviews from some awesome people. Namely; AnimeKpopKawaii, ElvinaPotter, and FD. For those who reviewed the last chapter after I published this one, you're awesome too. But, thanks to the last chapter, the story now has 1,587 views (lol, I get happy over even one view XD)! Yahoo!...ugh, school is cooooooming...I stilll have to do homework...ugh...it's not hard, just troublesome. AHHHH! I only have a half hour more to write this! Enjoy! **

xXxXx

"You don't want to see this." Rin said, glaring now at his younger brother.

Yukio took a step away from Rin, pulling out his second gun and aiming it at his own brother's head. Yukio lashed his head back and forth to look at the doppelganger and Rin.

"Yukio, get out of my way. Now!" Rin shouted, but didn't move a muscle.

"Chose who trust, me or someone who is or is not your flesh and blood." The girl smirked.

"Put your gun down and get behind me, that, or be in the line of fire." Rin said coldly.

Rin would do it. If he had to knock out Yukio, just to protect LS and Wolf, he would. Plus, he wouldn't mind knocking him out just for fun, either. How many times did Rin get shot by his own brother? Too many times to count. He had basically sacrificed his own life just for his brother and the church, and what does Yukio do? He gets mad at him. It was always Rin's fault, never the person who started the fight. 'Monster' 'Devil Child' 'Demon'. Those were Rin's many names. Years of torture and pain he had survived, and now, Yukio was pointing a gun at his head once more, wanting him to die. Deep down it hurt like hell, but, to Rin, everything was normal. Rin was used to being hated. Everything was a game. A game of survival. A game of insanity. A game of loss. Someday, Wolf was going to see his true nature, and she would leave as well. Everyone around him got killed. Serpent, Shiro, Laughing Shadows, and soon Wolf. Rin knew this, and told her, but she simply kissed him. She reminded him, that everyone had to die someday, and if she were to die because of Rin, she would be happy. She would be happy to die the person who saw her for who she really was, the person who still loved her even if they were different as well.

Rin smiled to himself. '_What would Wolf do in this situation?_'

"Time's up, Yukio. Chose who you kill. Me or him." She said, her eyes full of confidence.

Rin's smile widened. It was time to kill.

Rin's foot came flying up, kicking Yukio's gun up. Rin caught it in one hand, and aimed it at the girl.

"What's your name?" Rin growled.

"Secret. No way am I telling you."

"Ok then, Himitsu. That sound good enough for you?" Rin smiled evilly. (1)

"Wait! You can't-" Himitsu screamed.

"Good bye." Rin said, his eyes flashing dangerously.

xXxXx

It was a blood bath. Blood poured from Himitsu's face. Rin ran up once more, kicking Himitsu in the face, his heel digging into her cheek. Rin had kicked with enough force to slam her against a brick wall. Himitsu slid to ground moaning. Rin jumped up and aimed a kick to her gut, but missed and hit the brick wall, shattering it to pieces. Ruble covered Himitsu, making it hard to breathe.

Himitsu slowly got up, slouched and shaking. She looked up at Rin, glaring. Rin planted his left foot down and punched Himitsu with all of his strength. She flew back and slammed into another brick wall, cracking the surface.

"Pathetic. I'm not even breaking a sweat. Weakling." Rin glared down at her.

Through the part in her bangs, she glared back. Rin smirked at her reaction. Himitsu got up once more, taking a fighting stance.

"I am no weakling! Fight me for real!" She screamed.

"HA! I was toying around with you and you still got splattered into the pavement! And, now, you want me to go all out? Pathetic." Rin smirked.

Yukio was behind them, looking in horror as his own brother had shot Himitsu with his own gun. But, since the bullets were for demons, they had no effect except drawing a bit of blood. Rin had grinned and then shot her in the head, and since head wounds bled like crazy, Himitsu's blood quickly had covered the alley. He had then punched Himitsu until she was so weak, she couldn't fight back. Rin hadn't even spilled a drop of blood, he only kept getting blood on him, but never spilled a drop of his own.

Himitsu pulled out a knife, twirling it around like a pro. She charged, catching Rin off guard. She sliced down, now a long deep slash ran down Rin's chest, spilling blood. Rin gasped and clenched his fist. He was starting to get serious. Rin faked a punch to her face but instead kicked her in the gut. Himitsu coughed up blood and lost her grip on the knife, sending it flying into the air. Rin reached out and grabbed the blade side on accident, blood trickling down his hand and down his arm, staining his hoodie a dark shade of crimson. Himitsu laughed. Rin grabbed the hilt and charged, blood splattering the ground and nearby walls. He dug the knife deep in her stomach, her blood drenching Rin. Rin pushed the knife up, making more blood decorate the ground. Himitsu slid to ground, clouching her stomach. Rin slowly pulled out the knife and then slit her wrist. The knife was covered in blood so it was blunt, making it hard to cut. After a few times, Rin finally got a cut deep enough into the main vein. Himitsu screamed her head off through the whole thing.

Rin turned and walked away, leaving Himitsu lying on the ground, her own blood pooling around her. Rin slowly walked away, his back still turned to Himitsu, relaxed. Himitsu shakily reached under her shirt for something. A gun. She aimed, her mind numb. She saw Yukio's eyes widen, she gave a small smile. And pulled the trigger.

xXxXx

_**bang. **_

Yukio watched as Rin spun around to the sudden noise, only to get hit by a bullet. Another fired, and another went into Rin's body. Yukio watched as Rin just stood there, letting his blood pour down. Rin just watched, he watched Himitsu die. He had killed her.

Rin turned around and grabbed Yukio's wrist and dragged him away. Yukio just stared at Rin's bloody hands. Rin jerked him left and right through the maze of alleys and passageways. Yukio snapped out of his daze and looked up, only to find Laughing Shadows' base looming above them. Rin tugged Yukio all the way to the living room, to be greeted by Rock, Crow, and Wolf. Rin let go of his brother's hand and walked over to Crow, handing him the knife. Crow eagerly grabbed the knife and looked it over.

"It looks like you had a rough night, Demon." He said, not looking up from the knife.

"Wha' happen? Ya' win or lose?" Rock asked, eyeing Yukio.

"No, Yukio decided to take a little stroll in the middle of the night and decided to get himself killed. But, thanks to him, we know that there's going to be an ambush soon." Demon replied.

"Dumbass. One reason why Light Dwellers don't belong here! The only thing they're good for is dog food! Now, thanks to them, we're gonna die!" Wolf said, fear in her eyes.

Demon walked up to Wolf and ruffled her hair, giving her a small smile.

"Yukio, go up to your room. You have no inguries, so, you're fine." Crow said, still not looking up from the knife in his hands.

"Rin got shot! I have to-" Yukio started.

"Leave." Rock ordered.

After a few moments in which Yukio did not leave, Rock sighed and grabbed Yukio's arm dragging him up to his room.

"Rin, we'll talk about this tomorrow. We're all tired and we all need some sleep. Wolf will treat your wounds, if they're not healed already." Crow ordered, walking out of the room and up the stairs.

Wolf quickly grabbed Demon's hand and pulled him up the stairs to her room where the medical kit was. Once to her room, Wolf entered her room and ordered Rin to sit on her bed. Demon sat down and stared at Wolf's back, watching her rumage through the medical kit. Wolf picked out a pair tweezers, cotton swabs, and bandages.

Wolf walked over to Rin and sat down next to him, turning him towards her. Wolf slowly took off Demon's blood soaked hoodie, blood dripping onto the floor. Wolf went to remove his shirt, but Demon stopped her.

"I'm a demon. I..." Rin looked down at the ground, unable to meet her eyes.

"I don't care, I already know you're a demon. I don't mind." Wolf said, looking into Rin's eyes.

Demon looked up into her eyes, finding no fear. Demon let her take off his shirt to reveal his tail, coiled around his torso. Wolf's eyes widened slightly, but quickly returned to normal. Demon studied her face closely. There was no fear, only interest.

Rin uncoiled his tail, it lying on the bed, still. Wolf looked at Demon, almost to get the okay to touch it. Rin nodded his head a bit, and Wolf slowly touched his tail, the tuft recoiling slightly from her touch. Wolf smiled a bit, glad that Demon had trusted her so much.

Wolf redirected her focus to Rin's two bullet holes in his stomach. A long slash down his chest was slowly healing, the skin slowly weaving itself back together. Wolf grabbed the tweezers and Rin pulled Wolf closer. Wolf's cheeks turned pink and Rin gave a small smile. Wolf bent down and put the tweezers to his pale skin. Demon flinched as his girlfriend dug around, trying to get the bullet out, blood pooling on the bed and ground.

Wolf finally got the bullet out and worked on the next, blood soaking Wolf's hands. Wolf looked up at Demon to see his face twisting in pain.

"Hurt much?" Wolf asked, going back to her work.

"Nah." Demon smiled, pain painted on his face.

"...Liar."

Demon ruffled Wolf's hair, a smile on his face. Wolf smiled back, but quickly focused back on the task at hand. Once the second bullet fell to the ground, Rin was heavily bleeding. Wolf quickly wrapped bandages around Rin's torso and dabbed away any traces of blood from the knife slash.

"Done." Wolf stood up, throwing away the bloody cotton swabs.

Demon stood up and walked up silently behind Wolf, who was putting away the crimson tweezers. Demon wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Rin put his forehead to back of her head, silently breathing hard from the sudden movement and pain. Wolf blushed and kept her eyes on the ground.

"I'm sorry." He muttered.

"Wha? What do you-"

"I've been a jerk. First, I leave for four months and then suddenly decide to return, I bring in Light Dwellers and I cause trouble. And now, I had you treat my wounds...Thank you, for everything." He said in her ear.

Wolf turned around and hugged Rin, who was surprised by his girlfriend's sudden act.

Rin smiled slightly, and then returned the hug, placing his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes. They stood like that for a while, or at least until Rin noticed that Wolf had gone to sleep in his arms.

Demon sighed with a smile and gently picked Wolf up, taking her to her bed. Rin laid her down and pulled the blankets over her, and he turned to leave. Rin noticed that Wolf's firm grasp was on his wrist, not letting him go anytime soon. He smiled, and then laid down next to her, on top of the covers. Rin pulled Wolf close, and then too fell asleep.

xXxXx

**A/N: Ok. Another short chapter. Sorry, but, for this chapter, it was really hard to write. I'm not good at fight scenes or romantic ones either. If anyone has ideas for the next chapter, that would be great, because, I have none. I'll try harder on the next chapter, but I maybe won't publish again till school gets rolling again. I still haven't completed my summer homework yet and I need to focus on settling back into the school year. I'm sorry. But, I will be working on the next chapter here and there so I might get my story updated before school starts. **

**Anyways:**

**(1) Himitsu means 'secret' in Japanese, just tellin'.**

**I hope you enjoyed it, because I didn't. R&R! Thank you!**


	7. The Four Tests, Grenades, And Names

**A/N: OMG! I published! I got some great ideas from ElvinaPotter and AnimeKpopKawaii, and I decided to write! But, just telling, the last chapter (the fight scene) was all thanks to ElvinaPotter, who gave me a lot of great ideas. As for the romance scene, AnimeKpopKawaii helped me with that. Anyways, for this chapter and the next few, once again, I'll be using ElvinaPotter and AnimeKpopKawaii's ideas mixed with some of my own...kukukukuku...**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - I do not own Ao No Exorcist.**

xXxXx

_Wolf's POV_

"_It's time for me_

_My sword and flame protect you_

_Just you can see the fire_

_We're flying in the sky_

_No one blames you, NO!_

_Forget your self abuse_

_Now we have grown and fast_

_Another chance to grasp the earth_" (1)

I slowly open my eyes and I look around. I was in bed, with Demon next to me, one arm pulling me close, and the other he was using as a pillow. I looked around to see Demon's phone ringing on ground in his jacket pocket. I looked up at Demon's sleeping face, he seemed so much more relaxed than usual, not as tense. He seemed as if he was a normal person, instead of a demon. Honestly, I knew he was different from the start, it was just hard to believe. I never knew who he was in the city, and I never knew what it was like there.

I slowly unwrapped his arm around me and sat up.

Sunlight was shining into the bedroom, making the room seem as if it was glowing. There was slight breeze that ruffled the papers on my desk, which was in front of the window.

'_Should we even be calling it a window anymore? I mean, we never put glass up in the first place, what's the point?' _I thought tiredly.

I looked down at Demon, and softly shook him awake. Once he opened his eyes, he muttered a soft 'good morning', and then snuggled deeper into the covers, even though he was on top of them. I sighed. He was even worse than me in the morning.

I got out of bed and walked over to his jacket and pulled out his phone, which was still ringing. I looked at the caller ID to see 'Rooster'.

'_What the fuck? Rooster? Another person from the slums? A Light Dweller? Poor guy, to be named Rooster...sucks for him.' _

I flip open the phone and answered, only to get one of our lovely Light Dweller's voice blasted into my ear, bright and early. What a joy...

"Rin! Get your ass out of bed! Come down stairs! We're waiting!" Bon shouted.

I tiredly smirked. "Well, shame that this isn't Demon, isn't it? So, what were you saying?"

"Ah...nothing...nothing really. Um, good morning, Wolf." Bon stuttered.

I laughed, I could sense his discomfort coming through the phone. I could practically see 'Rooster' blushing, wondering why I was the one answering the phone, and not Rin. I shut Demon's phone and prodded Demon out of bed. Once I was the victor, we walked down the stairs silently. One left, three rights, another left, through a door, go down the stairs, another left, four more rights, and down one more flight of stairs.

Honestly, when we first decided that this was to be our base, we had to make maps to get around.

Once we had gotten to the living room, everyone's eyes were on us, just staring at us. I looked over at the corner, my bloody baseball bat still chained and locked to the wall (2). I looked back over to the Light Dwellers, and glared. I could see them stiffen, all except the blond girl. What was her name? Shine or something? No, that was the pink head.

"So, now that you two are awake, we can finally talk about the thing that the Light Dwellers want." Crow said, still in his pajamas.

"And that is..." Demon asked, taking the last seat on the couch.

I looked around, looking for a place to sit. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist and Demon pulled me down into his lap. I blushed.

"Anyways, they wanna know if they can become members of LS." Rock finished for Crow.

"We said it was okay, but it's up to you two." Crow added.

"…It's their life." Demon said, closing his eyes.

Everyone's redirected themselves at me.

'_No way in hell. The day I let Light Dwellers into Laughing Shadows is the day I become a Light Dweller myself and prance around the city in a tutu and a fairy wand singing 'Baby' by Justin Beaver in a high pitch voice, then broadcasting myself doing all that to the entire world. Not happening. I would rather do suicide and watch UFOs take over the world than let even one Light Dweller into LS. This was Serpent's gang. No one had the right to let anyone join. Why didn't anyone feel the same?'_

I turned my head around and whispered into Demon's ear.

"Why would you say yes? They're Light Dwellers! If they join, they'll be the death of us all."

Demon whispered back into my ear. "Think about it; if they join, then they'll have to do training, right? No Light Dweller has ever passed all four tests, let alone most people in the slums. Give them a shot, maybe they'll be of use to us."

Demon opened his eyes slightly, his blue orbs serious. I slightly nodded, accepting the fact reluctantly.

"Fine!" I said, glaring at the Light Dwellers. "But on one condition. You have take the four tests like everyone else."

xXxXx

Shima's POV

_'Four tests? What? What the heck was the crazy chick talking about? First, she tried to kill us, now she's talking about tests? This is hell_!'

"The four tests? Isn't that a bit rough? No Light Dweller has ever passed even two of the tests, let alone all four." Crow said, speaking to Wolf.

"I think it fair, everyone is forced to take em'. We were no exception. We all passed the tests on our first try, even Demon, who was a Light Dweller at the time, passed the test easily. Let's see if they can do any better, eh?" said Rock,

In the corner of my eye I could see Rin, his eyes closed, staying out of the conversation all together. He just sat there, not saying a word, he didn't even protest being a Light Dweller. I could see Wolf staring at me, her gaze burning into my head. First, she tries to kill us with a metal bat, which is thankfully chained to a wall, and now, apparently, she's trying to kill me with her eyes. Was this seriously Rin's girlfriend? I hadn't seen them together besides now, are they seriously a couple? Maybe she's still single-

"Didn't I say she's taken." A voice sounded behind me.

I spun around and saw Rock grinning slightly. When the hell had he gotten behind me?! And now he's telepathic?!

"And, no, I'm not telepathic." He said, mocking me on the inside.

What was with him? And doesn't every person who's telepathic say that? Freaky.

I glanced at Bon, who was only paying attention to Crow, who was explaining the four tests.

"The four tests are quite hard, so be careful. If you die, it's not our fault. Remember that. Now, who wants breakfast?" Crow said, smiling.

Everyone agreed and headed to the kitchen. I turned around to see Rin and Wolf sitting on the couch, holding hands, and talking in hushed tones. I jumped down to the ground and crawled behind the couch.

"Rin, are you sure about this?" Wolf asked.

'_When the hell did Wolf start calling Rin by his real name_?' I thought.

"Yeah, it's the only shot we got. The chances of the Esquires passing, is extremely small. While they train, we'll sneak out and gather our forces." Rin replied.

"But if they pass?"

"Then we'll have six more people on our side. If they fail, then I'll send them back to the city, where they belong."

'_Wait, what? This is still Rin talking, right? The same Rin who sleeps in class, a demon, blue flames, forgetful, awesome cook, likes manga, owns the Kurikara, and Yukio's older brother? If so, then why the heck is he acting so different?_'

"…Fine. But will happen if they refuse to leave? That girl with the blond hair keeps trying to make me her friend. It's creepy. No one has ever done that, except you. But you weren't that suborn." Wolf replied.

"I'll take care of it. A dose of Ignis Venefirous (3) never hurt anyone. Someone can just slip it into their drinks or something, then we'll just have to get them over the Boarder and to their dorms." Rin said, trying calm Wolf.

"Yeah, but they got over the Boarder once, they can do it again. I sometimes wonder if we really are safe. If they can get over the Boarder, that easily, then what about the police? I mean, the police built the Boarder in one night, and no one noticed. They built it to keep us inside until we rot. No one here will ever go to the city, no one will ever be able to see the world. We're trapped here, yet, you just keep coming back. Why?" She whispered.

"Cause I fell for a wolf." He replied softly.

I could practically see Wolf smile slightly, and I could see Rin put his forehead against her's.

'_Okay, what is this? A cheesy fanfic? I mean, I just learned that if we don't pass these four mysterious tests, we'll be given some sort of poison and put back in our dorms. And, somehow, I know that we'll fail. I mean, what's with Rin always saying 'it's your life'? It makes it seem as if we're going to die at any second, oh, wait, we could_.' I think, frowning.

After a while, I sigh. They weren't talking and they weren't making any noise. Either they had left or they were silently making out. I looked over at the kitchen to see Bon standing in the doorway.

'_Move your butt, Bon_!' I inwardly shouted.

I moved slightly, but because of my awkward position, my spine cracked. I could hear someone getting up from the couch and footsteps heading towards me. I gulped.

I looked up and gave a shaky grin. I saw Wolf glaring above me and Rin looking at me from the couch, expressionless.

"What are you doing?" Rin asked, curious.

"Glazing at your…wonderful ceiling." I said, thinking fast.

"I know, right? Wolf did it. Isn't it cool." Rin said, smiling.

I glanced up and saw what looked like blood, almost like Wolf had taped someone's head to the ceiling and then stuffed their brain with a grenade. Then, she pulled the pin through their nose and then stepped back nd watched her work, grinning through the whole thing. Scary.

"Yep. I gotta go…" I crawled away from the smiling Rin and glaring Wolf.

Once I got into the kitchen, I stood up. I got a few questioning looks, but I brushed it off. I didn't feel like answering. Rin and Wolf came in and greeted everyone, since they hadn't said good morning. Wolf sat down and sat quietly on the corner of the table, as if she didn't want to be here. Rin went into the kitchen and helped Crow in making breakfast.

After a few minutes, the food was served and everyone ate their fill. I glanced at all of the LS members, trying to see what made them so special to be in 'the best gang'. (4)

Rock. He was tall and lanky, not at all like a rock, yet he had the name 'Rock'. He could erase his presence and he was telepathic. His job was keeping everything inside in its place and keeping everything in stock. He always wore some sort of long sleeve shirt and black shorts, and no shoes or socks. He was African American but he spoke Japanese fluently.

Crow. He was tall and muscular, it was almost as if he and Rock got their names switched up. He was the more intelligent one and he liked anything that was sharp, pointy, or shiny. He always had at least one weapon on him and job was cleaning all of the weapons. He had spiky bleached hair and always wore a T-shirt in gothic colors and jeans.

Wolf. She was lean and swift. Unlike Crow and Rock, her name actually fit. She was the one to start the fight than end it. She would charge into fights blindly without knowing the consequences. Yet, she knew more than she actually let on. Her job was protecting the building and making sure that no one got in who wasn't someone she knew, as I had learned. She had black hair that went to her waist and she always wore a T-shirt, a black or emerald hoodie, a faded pair of ripped skinny jeans, and combat boots.

Demon or Rin, I seriously didn't know what to call him. His name…fit, since he was an actual demon, and the fact of whether or not Laughing Shadows knew was another problem. And, like Wolf, he obviously knew more than he let on, a lot more. His job was patrolling five mile radius around the base, and took out anything that might be a threat.

A.k.a. the tests weren't going to be that hard. Were they?

xXxXx

Izumo's POV

After breakfast, we all went down another flight of stairs, through the door on the other side of the kitchen. We entered a hallway covered with cob webs, and then headed down a flight of wooden stairs, which were about to snap under our weight. I didn't get it. Yet, I understood. I understood why we were taking the four tests, but not the training. It was normal to them, but not to us. They understood the danger, we didn't. And, they were going to show us how we would live for the next month of our lives. And, hopefully, we would survive till the next sunrise.

xXxXx

**A/N: FINALLY! I'm done with this! It took me soooo long! It felt like I was on hiatus! My teacher who was supposed to be heartless and cruel, turned out not to be my teacher, instead I got a teacher who was ever worse. So…I just love my life *glares at the direction of my school*. Yep… so, I will still be updating, but not as fast. Sorry! Don't kill me! I want to thank everyone for reading! And I want to thank God that it's the weekend!**

**Anyways;**

**Ok. Everyone should know this song. Name it and I'll try my hardest to update the next chapter.**

**Yeah…remember all the way back at chapter 3, when Rin or Crow chained her metal baseball bat to the wall. Yeah…same bat.**

**Just so you know, 'Ignis Venefirous' means 'Fire Poison' in Latin. I wanted throw that in just for fun. XD**

**(4)Remember, this is Shima's view of the gang, not their real summary. Just remember.**

**Ok! This chapter had a really SHORT Izumo POV, but, I didn't know how she would think. The next chapter or so will have Bon, Konekomaru, Yukio, Shiemi, Rin, Crow, and Rock's POVs. I didn't have time to put in everyone's ideas, but if you still have some, please tell me.**

**Thanks! R&R! More reviews=faster update! Bye Bye! XD**


	8. The Keeping Of Secrets And The Beginning

**A/N: Hey! Sorry I haven't written for a while, and my excuse is….I don't have one. Love me. Hate me. Praise me. Anyways, I want to thank everyone that you've read this far, because, I check a list when I'm bored to see how people read each chapter, around 50 people quit reading every chapter. Back to the topic, I want thank you for reading this far, thank you!**

**Anyways, I'll shut up and let you read…..wait…. **

***PLEASE READ! VERY IMPORTANT!***

**I have posted a poll, for this story. Please give me your opinion, because if you don't, then writing the next few chapters, later on, will be crappy, that, or there will be no more new chapters!**

**Wolf: Don't threaten the reader…that's my job. *smirks*  
me: Yes…but….I need my ideas, and if I don't have ideas, you and Rin don't exist.  
Wolf: Well, that sucks for you.  
Me: Hey! How 'bout you just- never mind…  
Wolf: *smiles* *holds up metal bat*  
me: Wait! I thought Rin chained that to a wall?! *runs away***

**Disclaimer – I do not own Ao No Exorcist.**

**Enjoy!**

xXxXx  
Bon's POV

Once I hit the bottom of the wooden stairs, my mouth fell open. What the hell was this?! I was expecting something…more. We appeared in a huge room around twice the size of a gymnasium. It had four doors at the end of the room, but the fourth seemed newer than the others. The ground was cement with splotches of what seemed of blood. Machines of different types were set up around the room, and different types of sharp objects stuck out of the wall, reminding us not to get too close.

I didn't like the idea of the training, it was pathetic. It was like saying that we weren't good enough, so we needed training. And, what also pissed me off, was the fact that Rin was just watching this! It was insulting! He was basically taunting us, telling us that he was a better fighter than us.

"So, let's begin kitties!" The creepy girl said, grinning like a maniac.

I didn't care if 'creepy girl' or 'insane chick' wasn't her real name, since there was no way in hell that I was going to call her 'Wolf'. Who names a girl Wolf?

"Serpent did. If you hadn't noticed, he has a tendency to name people on what they're like on the inside, the soul, not on what's based on the outside." Rock said, appearing out of nowhere.

I saw Shima back away, clearly freaked out about Rock's appearing act. He was too suspicious. All of Laughing Shadows were suspicious.

They all clearly knew something that we didn't, almost trying to separate us as a group, telling us that we weren't wanted. Only Rin was in the middle.

I grunted in response to Rock, and focused back on what Crow was saying; only now giving the spotlight to Rin.

"Ok, for starters-"

I cut him off, not wanting to babied. "Look, you damn blueberry, I don't care how 'dangerous' your 'tests' are, but if it comes down it, then I'll beat your ass." I smirked, enjoying the look on Rin's face.

Rin glared and then chuckled, almost laughing his head off.

'What was so funny?' I thought, as Rin doubled over at my choice of words.

"You! Beat my ass?! I'll take you up on that, considering that I'm to teach the last test, Rooster." Rin straightened up.

Was this the Rin from Cram School? The same Rin who pissed me off every day? He was…different. I stared in horror as he continued laughing a bit, but his eyes held more. Those blue orbs held sadness and hate, hate for doing this to us, hate to himself, he had lead us straight into this mess, without knowing. He hated himself because of us. It was our fault.

I clenched my teeth, hating myself for this. I hated how Rin kept the burden on himself, not telling anyone. He let everyone around him to be happy, except himself. He kept the secret of being the son of Satan from us, then he kept the secret of him having a girlfriend, then the fact that he was in a fuckin' gang. He watched Shiro and Serpent die right before his eyes, and he kept it to himself. He had taken out everything in his path, just so he could protect the people close to him.

"Screw training! Give us the first test, blueberry!" I shouted, shock spread across his face, staring at me as if I was out of my mind.

I didn't care. I just wanted the old Rin back. I wanted the idiot who slept in class and the guy who was more interested in manga than his studies. I wanted the guy who smiled at every moment he could. I wanted the old Rin back, not _this _Rin.

"Sounds fine to me, what about you, Demon?" Crow asked, looking at Rin.

Rin looked away and muttered a small 'yeah' as a reply. His eyes were contracted in fear, his body tense. He clearly didn't like the idea of us taking the tests now, but why? I was jolted out of my thoughts as Shima nudged me, indicating that it was time go through the first door in the back of the room. I gave a slight nod, but noticed that the insane chick was staying behind, heading to a wall, and starting to pry off knives and pieces of glass out of the wall with her hands. I signaled to Shima and Miwa (1) for them go on ahead, indicating that I'd tell them later. They nodded in response. I headed back to area Wolf was in, but something told me not to get too close. (2)

"Hey, Rooster." She said, not looking over her shoulder.

"How did you know-" I was cut off by Wolf's laugh.

"Your steps are heavier than others, and also the fact that I saw you stay behind. Now, what do I owe the pleasure of bestowing you today- no, wait, let me guess. You want to know why Rin is acting so different, no?" Wolf turned towards me, her voice full of sarcasm.

I was about to say yes, when she cut me off again.

"It's because of the situation. The Rin you knew in the city is the same Rin, but it's because he's in front of the others. In the slums, if you show weakness, you get eliminated. Kicked out of the game. Whatever you want to call it. If it makes you feel better, just so you know that Rin isn't one-upping you in knowledge, he and you are different. You will always be smart in school, and Rin will always be smart on the streets. Either way, the only thing that's changed is the environment. If you put Rin back in the city, he'll act the same as before. Rin is still Rin, so, please, don't make his mental burden worsen because of you. He's under enough stress as it is."

Wolf turned back to what she was doing, acting as if she hadn't spoken, but she still knew of my presence.

"Whatever. I didn't even ask you anything." I turned on my heel and walked away.

I thought I had heard Wolf say a few last words, something like; "Didn't ask anything? Someday, you'll get bitten by those words. Everyone does. Be careful of yourself. Because once you start the test, your mind and sanity is your greatest weapon. Lose it, and there is no return, Light Dweller."

xXxXx  
(Rin's POV)

I couldn't watch anymore, but, yet, I had to. I had to watch as everyone struggled. I had to watch as everyone suffered. I had to watch as everyone was in agony. Why did Bon have to suggest the test now? What fools they were, yet, I was a bigger fool than them all combined. I had led them here. I had done this to them. I should've dropped them back in the city the moment they had gotten knocked out by Wolf. This was my fault.

This was only the first part of the first test. Rock hovered over them, as they did their part of the test.

'To have will as strong and unbreakable as a rock.' I thought, as closed my eyes for a second, not wanting to watch my own brother silently went on through the test.

The room was fairly large with cement walls and flooring. There was a dug out near the door where I stood, where all Laughing Shadows members went if they wanted to watching the testing. True, it was interesting to watch, but not when they were people you knew, or your friends for that matter.

Iron bars were evenly set horizontally around four to five feet off the ground. The training was pretty simple; to hang upside down and hang by your knees on the iron bars, then use your core and lift your body up into straight position, making it seem like you were lying on a bed, your feet as if they were touching the ground.

Yes, it was hard, but you didn't need to go all the way up. You just had to try your hardest and keep your mouth shut. This was about whether or not you could keep your mouth shut if you were captured by an enemy gang or something. Either way, you had to try, if you gave up, you immediately failed.

But, if they failed, would they come back? Would they come back over the boarder just to fight? No, they weren't that stupid. No one would do that. No one in the right mind would, at least.

I refocused my mind on the test, wanting to watch. Everyone was doing fine, all trying, well, Shima looked as if the was giving half-assed crap, but he was trying. (3)

I stepped away from the edge of the dugout and sat on the cold ground. I could hear a groan across the room once in a while, but I never heard Rock's voice call out a name to kick them out of a room. I closed my eyes and listened to sounds which echoed around the room.

I remembered doing the same test. The same test in my first year of middle school, and back then, Rock hated me. He had tried to fail me over thirty times on stupid things. Only thanks to Crow was I able join. But, was I really thankful?

xXxXx

By the time the test was over, all of the Esquires had passed. Everyone filed out of the room except for Yukio, who stayed where he was. It was almost like had drawn an invisible line or wall between us. I somehow knew that Yukio wouldn't move until I left. I got up and strolled out of the room, but my brother's voice stopped me from leaving.

"Nii-san."

I stopped and turned on my heel, facing Yukio, his cold eyes on me. I knew that there was something he wanted to say, and in any way, he was going to say it. I closed my eyes, not wanting see Yukio's face as this was about to begin.

"Nii-san…why did you kill her?" Yukio's voice solid, but his eyes were covered in shadows.

"Who?" I asked, drawing a blank, opening my eyes in surprise.

"You know fully well who I'm talking about! That girl! The one who you killed in the alley!" Yukio shouted, his eyes still covered in shadows.

I didn't want to answer, but I knew I had to. If I didn't, my younger brother would hate me even more. I took a few steps forward and stopped, only ten yards away from Yukio.

"I…killed her…to protect. If I hadn't killed her, then she would've sent word and gotten her entire gang, along with her leader, and then tracked us down and killed us even more gruesome than what I did to Himitsu. Now, if you had wanted to die, then you should've spoken up, cause then I would've let her lead you to the Dead Zone." I said threatening.

"….."

This wasn't me. This wasn't what I was like.

"Here, in the slums, exorcism is useless. The only way to survive is to fight. Here, its kill or be killed. Hunter and prey. If you're the prey, then you don't have much time left. Here, you have limited amount of time to live, and if you waste your time worrying about who you kill, you'll end up in an alley with a knife in your heart. You're too kind, Yukio." I looked into Yukio's eyes and smiled a true smile, one I hadn't smiled in a while.

Yukio's shadow disappeared and his eyes widened. He bowed his head a bit, grinding his teeth. "I just…I just hate feeling so useless. You have already passed the test while you were in middle school….I'm the same age as you, and yet, I'm only taking the test now. I…just don't want to be left in the dust again… You can do anything you set your mind to, ever since we were small. I don't want to be the last one out. I…"

"I was always hated. So, joining Laughing Shadows, a place where they _liked _the part of me that was different, made me realize that my life wasn't such a burden on others. I was called names like 'devil child', 'monster', and 'demon', only to find out that I actually was. I couldn't help but feel hurt, but, you can't go back into the past and change your mistakes." I gave a sad smile, telling Yukio that I was telling the truth. "It was always my fault. That's what I grew u on. But, I also grew up around Shiro and Serpent, but then…. And then, I realized, before being told, that I was a monster. A monster where if anyone got close to me, they would die as well."

Yukio looked up once more in surprise at the choice o my words. I kept smiling, telling him that I was okay.

"I fight in the slums, so that everyone unwanted stays on this side of the boarder, so that the church doesn't get hurt more than it already has. I fight on instinct, so that no one else gets hurt. Yet, you just don't get it. You don't understand the danger of even being here." I said, turning on my heel, slowly walking to the door.

When I reached the door, Yukio's voice carried to me. "Nii-san, would you….would you kill me, like you did to that girl?"

I lashed around, to find Yukio's cold eyes on me. He had been wanting to say this all along.

"We're brothers, aren't we? Brothers don't kill each other." I gave him an earnest look, hoping to get my point across.

"I-"

"Would you kill me?" I asked, staring into his eyes, searching for any signs of betrayal.

Yukio gave a small, joyous, smile and closed his eyes. "We're brothers, aren't we?"

I smiled and walked out the door, smiling all the way up the stairs.

xXxXx

**A/N: I'M GONNA GET SO MUCH HATE! I know I made characters OC, so, yeah. I don't got a good excuse. Sorry 'bout that. I tried not to, I'll tell you that much.**

**Anyways;**

**I got lazy so instead I wrote 'Miwa' instead of 'Konekomaru'. There's my reason.**

**Smart, Bon. Especially when Wolf has sharp objects in reach….**

**Okay, I seriously can't see Shima doing hard, focused, exercise unless flirting with a girl. Yep. Tell me if I'm wrong, please.**

**Oh yeah, in the next chapter, I will be using a song, so whoever guesses and gets the name of the song AND who sings it right, they'll get something….ya, if I can find something. It'll probably be something like another coke or popcorn or a used battery. Yep….oh!**

**I DON'T NEED ANYMORE IDEAS! I HAVE TOO MANY! THAKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! But, if you're dying to tell me, then tell me. But, it may or may not be put in the story. **

**Oh! And, just tellin', but there will be a sequel to this…yep, not even at the climax of the story and I'm thinking about the sequel. It'll be called 'Demon's Past Mistakes', that is, if I finish this.**

**Bye bye! R&R! I may or may not update by Halloween, so, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**


	9. The Boarder, A Hope, And A Fighting Wolf

**A/N: Hey! I'm back! Yep, I know you missed me. This chapter will only be in Wolf's POV, so, don't be too mad. In the next chapters, there will be more different POVs and normal POV. So-**

**Wolf: Shut up, Light Dweller.**

**Me: Hey! I-**

**Wolf: We don't care, you're depressing. Go die in a hole.**

**Me: *sits in emo corner***

**Wolf: Oh well. Elusive Panther doesn't own Ao No Exorcist/Blue Exorcist. Now, the story will continue once our stupid author gets off her lazy ass and writes.**

**Me: B-b-but-**

**Wolf: On with the story. Dear lord help me…..**

xXxXx  
Wolf's POV

"Whatever. I didn't even ask you anything." Rooster turned on his heel and walked away.

"Didn't ask anything? Someday, you'll get bitten by those words. Everyone does. Be careful of yourself. Because once you start the test, your mind and sanity is your greatest weapon. Lose it, and there is no return, Light Dweller." I muttered, unsure whether or not the Light Dweller had heard my words.

I chipped at the broken glass, tumbling my thoughts over and over inside my head. I turned around to see Rock's door closed. I sighed.

I was at a tug a war inside my head. I wasn't sure if I wanted them to join, but, we needed more members. But, my instinct told me to kill them, or at least send them to the other side of the Boarder, and to make sure they wouldn't come back.

But, if I did that, Demon would be mad. And I couldn't watch him suffer under the mental burden anymore.

I stepped back from the wall, and walked up the rotting stairs. They creaked at the shift of my weight, but, I still took it slow. Any sudden weight, and you would go straight down.

Once I reached the top, I looked below, wanting to go back down and watch with my boyfriend, but something told me not to. I turned, and opened the door. I strolled through the kitchen, picking up an apple on the way (1), and jogged up the three stories and through the winding hallways. I stepped into the last hallway before the hallway which led to my room. I stopped, and turned back, and took a different path. I ran my hand along the faded numbers on the doors, whispering the names of those who used to live there.

The memories of those who had lived through the pain and suffering wafted into my mind. It was intoxicating. I wanted those memories back, I wanted the time when we all fought together, before Serpent had died.

I stopped before a door, beaten and broken. I touched the handle, and the door swung open. The dusty air flittered through the room, and dirt and dust alike covered the small amount of beings in the room. I slowly stepped through the room, taking in the memories and shapes, memorizing it to the finest speck of dirt and filth. No one had entered this room within two years.

I walked pass a shelf, and stopped. Three picture frames sat, collecting dust. I picked up the first, showing Serpent holding a seven year old me on his shoulders, pointing out something, and me laughing at the sight of it. I could remember the day, but what he had said was blurry. I set down the picture, and picked up the second. It showed Knives, his best friend, smiling and waving to the camera. He was one of the lowest ranking fighters in Laughing Shadows, but rank didn't matter in the base. I put it down and picked up the third. It showed all us there; Rock, Crow, Serpent, Demon, and me. We were standing on the roof, smiling and laughing, probably one of the best days of my life. Everyone had their arms around each other's shoulders, and Demon had his arm around my waist, since I was at the end. My arm was around my boyfriend's shoulder, and my left hand made a peace sign to the camera. That day, was the day I smiled the biggest, and it seemed as if nothing could've ruined it. It was the day Demon had asked me out, in his first year of middle school.

xXxXx

I stared up at my ceiling, remembering that one day in the photo. I smiled and bit into my apple. I closed my eyes, and let my mind go blank. I opened them once again, and turned my head to stare at my desk. There lay a picture of me and Demon, smiling. We were much younger. The picture was taken around three months after Demon had joined. I smiled again, and closed my eyes, and dropped my apple as I fell asleep.

xXxXx

I woke to the cooing of an owl, and I shifted in my bed and saw the moon's rays. I got up, and sat in the window, stretching my back and arms. I kicked my fallen apple a few feet away, and I turned back to the glass-less window. The humming of talking and the faded screams of those getting killed or raped sounded all around me. I wanted to get away from it. I slithered rom the window and curled up into a tight ball on the floor, covering my ears as if it was my life. My eyes widen as I could still hear the screams echoing inside my head. But, they weren't just those from the outside, but those of the ones I had killed myself. I didn't want to kill them. I didn't! I just want to live! Is that so wrong?!

I want to run.

I scrambled to my feet, and jumped out the window, landing on a building a few yards aways, and landed with a small thud. I took off running.

I just ran, not knowing where I was going. I needed to get out of here. I now understood Serpent's wish to escape to the city. The city was full of life, lights, and happiness. Here, it was full of death, darkness, and madness. I couldn't stand it anymore. I just couldn't.

I had to try. I had to at least try getting over the boarder, to the light. I continued on, even long after my legs had gone numb. I just ran. I ran for what seemed forever, the lights in the night speeding past me.

I stopped once I had realized that boarder was looming above me. I slowed greatly and touched the bricks with my fingertips. It was cold, yet it was the only thing which separating me and my fate. I looked up and saw the barbed wire glistening. I dug my fingers into the brick, and tried climbing up. I tried again and again, but nothing worked. No one in the slums sold rope, and no one bothered with the police on the other side of the boarder. Some say the police are lazy bums, some say that they're rabid people who will do anything to track you down and throw you in jail.

I backed away, and stared in horror, noticing that I hadn't even gotten five feet off the ground. I closed my eyes, and let myself be thrown to my knees, and tears ran down my cheeks. I didn't care who was looking, I didn't care if people thought I was emotionally unstable. I just wanted to get out of this hell. I didn't care about anything else.

I just wanted to see the brightness, and see the warmth of trees lit up at Christmas time. I want to see everything Rin had said, which he promised to show me someday. I wanted to go to a New Year's festival, and watch the fireworks.

And, the worst part, was that a fucking wall standing in the way of that.

xXxXx

I wandered the streets aimlessly for hours on end, not caring where I was going. I looked up to gaze into a small store, and saw a few fresh produce. I pulled up my hood of my black jacket, and walked in. I picked out a few small strawberries, and four apples. I softly put them on the counter, and waited for the manager to notice me and my purchase. After a few minutes, I cleared my throat, and the old man jumped out of his chair and fell on the floor. He got up and smiled at me.

"Sorry, I didn't notice you. And I can usually notice people, sorry about that."

"No problem." I said smoothly.

He looked at me closer, and I kept my face hidden by my hood. He shrugged and started pushing buttons on the cashier.

"So, do you have any idea how to get over the boarder?" I asked, desperate.

The man looked up, and shook his head. "If I did, you wouldn't see me here, would you?"

I chuckled a bit. He was right.

"But, I gotta say, things were a lot better around here before Laughing Shadows disappeared on us. I still wonder what happened to them. I wonder if they just all forgot how much we depended on them, especially us working our butts off, trying to get by. I wonder if they just died, but I know one thing." The man stopped pushing buttons, and his eyes softened. "I know that things won't always be like this now. Serpent's right hand men were too tough for death. I know that they won't stop fighting for us, they'll strike when the time is right, and that bloody damned gang will fall. Laughing Shadows will victorious someday. I just hope I won't die before then, when that day comes."

My eyes widened. What? Did these people depend on us that much?

"I highly doubt that." I said.

He man looked startled. "Why do you say that, Miss?"

"Because, soon the right hand men of Laughing Shadows will take down Bloody Lucifer themselves. In three weeks, they will strike. I bet you can survive until then."

His eyes widened. "How do you know that? Who are you?"

I smiled, and took my food, placing it in my pockets. "I am the Wolf of Chaos. I am one of Serpent's right hand men." I tugged off my hood.

The man's eyes widened even more, and stepped back a little, his face frozen in shock. I smiled even more, and walked out of the shop, not before pulling my hood over my eyes once more. I turned around, and said one last thing.

"And, we didn't forget about you, old man."

xXxXx

I walked through the alleys and pathways in a slightly happier mood.

'At least I'm not running around town like a mad man, or crying in the middle of the street.' I thought.

I walked a few more yards when a shiver ran up my spine.

'Someone's coming.'

I turned a corner and waited. Footsteps came closer, but stopped a few feet from me. They knew I was there.

"Are you Wolf of Chaos?" The voice asked.

I waited a moment before answering. "Who's asking?"

The voice laughed a bit. "I'll take that as a yes."

I took a moment before saying anything that might worsen my problem, but the voice sounded before mine.

"Your boyfriend, Demon of the Slums, killed my sister, Himitsu." (2)

"Lives are taken every day, it was just your sister who paid the price of living."

"I'm Riko (3), and I'm going to kill you, because only then, will Demon know the suffering I went through, the night I found my own flesh and blood in an alley."

"Well then, if this involves my boyfriend, then I'm afraid you're the one to die."

"Let the games begin then."

And then, the running of footsteps started, and the fight began.

xXxXx

**A/N: That's it! It was short, and did straight Wolf POV, but, I had to. In the next chapter, there will be more Wolf in the beginning, but then there will be Shiemi, and maybe someone else, not sure who else.**

**Anyways;**

**(1) I got the idea from 'Spice And Wolf', and how Holo loves apples :3**

**(2) I just said 'Why not?' and made Himitsu's official name 'Himitsu'.**

**(3) 'Riko' means truth, in a female Japanese name. **

**Yep. I'm sorry for the slow update! There will be more Rin in next chapter. **

**CONTEST! : anyone who reviews/PMs me their favorite character, and which ever character gets the most love, will be on the next chapter for POV! **

**NOTICE! : PLEASE! I HAVE A POLL SET UP, SO, PLEASE VOTE! IT IS VERY IMPORTANT OF LATER CHAPTERS! **

**Thanks for reading! R&R!**


	10. Blood, And The Life And Death Of Friends

**A/N: Hey! Faster update! But, I want to say something, as one person said (not naming for the sake of them) they corrected m on my spelling of Boarder. I understand the difference, but I just chose to put that kind of spelling of boarder instead of border. I spell it differently because in the slums (or in my slums, whichever way you put it.), education probably isn't that great, so, in my neat little slums full of gore and death, the spelling of Boarder and Border, is the same thing, just how Light Dwellers isn't a real term. So, please excuse my weird and stupid reason for my spelling, if anyone else was being driven insane by my utter weirdness! So-**

**Rock: So, she doesn't own Ao No Exorcist, and she forgives you again for her being an idiot and not explaining her spelling.**

**Me: H-how did y-you know what I was going to s-say?!**

**Rock: What are you talking about?**

**Me: B-but you-**

**Rock: On with the story.**

**WARNING: This chapter is gruesome, you've been warned.**

xXxXx  
Wolf's POV

"Let the games begin then."

I ran out from my hiding spot, and ran into Riko, and instantly felt something cold pressed to my stomach.

'No!'

"You are such a foolish wolf, to be led to your death when we're not even a minute into the game." Riko smiled, and I tried to step back, but her hand was on my back, pushing me close to her, so I wouldn't get away.

I wanted to run, but I was frozen on the spot, wide eyed. I couldn't move. Why couldn't I move? What was going on?

I'm going to die, aren't I?

No, I couldn't. Not now. Not when I haven't seen Laughing Shadows at its peak again. Not when….

Not when I haven't gone up to Rin and said "I'm not afraid of you, Rin. But, what I am afraid of, is me. Please stay by my side, Rin."

No. I wouldn't die.

_**Bang.**_

No. Never. I will never die.

Come. Come and try to make me fall.

I dare you.

xXxXx

Seconds turned to minutes, and I still stood. The gun in Riko's hand started to shake, and a smile appeared on my face. Her's had disappeared the moment she had pulled the trigger.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Riko's eyes widen and blood trickle down the corner of her mouth.

My smile widened.

"Done already? But, only just started the game, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" I cooed, an evil and crazed grin spread across my face.

Riko coughed blood out onto my shoulder, the blood dripping down my back.

"You see, Riko, even wolves have claws. You should've known that, dumbass."

Riko's hand stopped shaking, and a smile appeared on her face once more. My smile dropped almost instantly.

Riko jumped back, and my hand ripped back out of her stomach, blood coating the alley in a sheet of crimson. Three more shots were fired, and hit their target, me, landing right next to the first lodged in my side. I ran back, running for any type of cover. I jumped behind a crate and covered my head with my arms as a volley of my bullets came showering down around me. I frantically looked around for any type of weapon.

I set my eyes on a three foot long wooden pole, and a bent metal pipe around the same size. The exact size of a baseball bat. I shook off my jacket, since it didn't look like it would serve any better purpose than this.

I put my jacket on the wooden pole and threw it as far as I could. And my plan worked. Riko shot at the dummy around five times, and from the sound of her gun, she was out of ammo. I lurched forward, grabbing the pipe and circling back around in one swift movement. I wielded the pipe and swung it into her stomach, the same place where I had drove my hand into her torso. Riko bent over the pipe, and coughed out even more blood. I retracted quickly and swung my new favorite toy down onto her head, creating a new wonderful gash on her head. A droplet of red hit my face, and an evil grin was suddenly plastered to my face.

She was right. This was going to be a fun little game, wasn't it?

I started laughing and I punched Riko in the eye, making her smash against the brick wall behind her. I ran up to her and kneed her in the gut and slammed my elbow into the back of her neck, making her eyes roll into the back of her head. I shoved the pipe into the ground, creating a crack in the pavement. My left hand slowly felt its way to her throat, and I held her up in the air, but only barely, so that she could still look into my eyes.

"You thought you could win the game, but a simple trick led to your demise. I'm starting to wonder how you survived this long, without being the walking dead. But, the only thing you did wrong, was the fact that you brought Demon into this. Wrong move, eh?" I smiled.

And one thing was for sure. My smile was not one of a child getting a lollipop.

I reached my right hand up, covered in blood, and took my nails and ran them across her face, making her eyes snap open and widen, as she screamed to her lung's limit. My nails dug up chucks of her cheek, and blood and puss spilled down her face. I grinned. (1)

Riko stopped prying my hand off of her throat and started to punch me in the face, making blood spill down my face from the cuts from her sharp nails. I stood my ground, but it was too late. Riko stopped momentarily, and brought her hand back, nails shining in the moonlight.

She swung. And she hit her mark. My throat. (2)

xXxXx

It was back to a game of cat and mouse. I was the mouse, she was the cat.

I held my throat with my right hand, trying to keep the bleeding down. In my left, I held my pipe awkwardly, since I was naturally right handed. I tightened my grip on both of the objects in my hands.

In my left, a weapon which could decide my fate from life and death.

In my right, a crimson covered hand holding the one thing that was helping my soul stay in its place.

xXxXx

I ran from cover to cover. Riko's slow footsteps getting closer and closer, even though I was running, and she walking.

"Fun game this has led to, eh? Shame, isn't it? That the game is going to end?" Riko said.

I gasped for breath. I moved my body and sprinted for the next entrance of another passageway. I turned the corner and jumped back.

It was a dead end.

I ran to the wall and pressed my back to it.

No. I wasn't going to die.

"Shame that the game has to end, ne?" Riko turned the corner, a tired smile on her face, while mine had long disappeared, and now hung an expression of total fear.

"_I know that things won't always be like this now. Serpent's right hand men were too tough for death."_

I spoke. "….Yeah. It's also a shame that wolves don't have nine lives."

"Game over."

Riko pulled out a knife from her belt, her pink hair blowing in the soft breeze.

Riko lunged, and drove the blade into my collarbone. I gasped out blood and fell to the ground. Blood pooled around me, and a metallic taste filled my mouth. My body hurt. It hurt. No, that was an understatement.

It hurt like bloody fuck. Hell, even that was an understatement.

Riko now stood above me, and I just lay there, defenseless. I saw my pipe in the corner of my eye.

Riko lifted her foot, and pushed the knife deeper into my worn body. I screamed until my lungs hurt, and Riko smirked all the way through it. Once Riko had had her fun, she kicked me in the face, and laughed, walking away, letting me bleed to death.

No.

I wasn't going to die.

Not yet.

I grasped the bent bloody pipe in my right hand, and heaved myself off of the ground. Riko spun around and with the last of my strength, I heaved forward, running with everything I had left. I lifted the pipe, and drove it into her stomach, the same place which I had created with my hand a while ago. I pushed my end of the pipe down, and skewered her. I shoved the pipe up her rib cage, and then pulled it out, blood coating my entire body. Riko fell.

She was dead. Finally. I was alive.

I was alive.

I fell to my knees next to her body, and let out a pitiful laugh. I just kept laughing for what seemed like hours on end, my eyes wide and looking a bit crazed. I didn't care. I was alive. I was alive, and that's all that mattered.

I was going to see the sunrise. I was going to live another day.

xXxXx

I fell asleep in the filth and blood, next to the corpse which had once held a soul named Riko. When I woke up, the sun was setting. The sky was full of different colors; pink, orange, purple, blue, midnight blue, and red. It was wonderful.

'Funny, isn't it? Once you see death's door right in front of you, do you really notice how twisted life is.' I thought.

"And, old man, I'm still alive." I said, smiling.

I stayed on the ground for a few moments more, and then heaved my bloody and broken body up, using the bent pipe as a short walking stick. I had no idea where I was, so I wandered the cold alleys and pathways. I felt like I was going in circles, but I listened to my instinct, and followed the path my legs wanted to follow. I turned corners of buildings in which I was unfamiliar with. And I walked paths which hadn't been stepped on for what seemed ages. Only long after dark did I look up to see Laughing Shadows base. I let my feet slip out from under me, and I fell to the hard ground, knowing that I'd be ok now, and that I was out of harm's way.

xXxXx  
Shiemi's POV (3)

I lay awake in room 2213. I couldn't sleep with all of the unfamiliar surroundings. The gunshots outside the window blared inside my head. I didn't like it.

I wanted to be back in True Cross, with my flowers. But, Rin was here. And I couldn't leave him here, not when he was in danger, and when I would be safe. He was going to fight one of the most dangerous gangs, and I would be in my bed. I couldn't betray Rin like that, especially when Rin had done so much for me.

I heard a gunshot close by, and I shot out of bed. I didn't want to be here.

My grandmother's garden. It was safe. It was bright. It was colorful.

Here, everything was dark; black, gray, and brown. And Crimson. No one could forget the shade of red which covered almost every inch of this place. This wasn't True Cross. No one was watching, no one would tell us what we were doing was wrong. It was frightening, but if Rin was here, then I would be too.

I couldn't- I wouldn't betray him. I got out of bed, and walked silently to the window, and saw a body. Long hair spread about it, lying on its back, covered in crimson. Something seemed off. I looked closer to see a pair of combat boots, which seemed familiar.

Wolf.

I hurried away, and ran down the stairs, rushing to the first floor. I reached the huge doors which led to the outside, but I hesitated. I couldn't go outside. Rin had told us not to. I-

But Wolf was in trouble. I had to help her.

I heaved the thick door open, my arms shaking. I took Nii-Chan in my hands, and ran around the bend. Wolf was still there, unconscious. I heaved Wolf onto her back, and gasped at the damage. Wolf had several cuts and bruises all over her face, and a deep gash over her throat. A knife was dug deep into the collarbone, her skin touching the hilt. Scrapes, cuts, and bruises covered her entire body, and four bullet holes were lodged into her side (4).

"Nii-Chan!" I said, wanting something for the bullet wounds. (5)

Nii-Chan jumped up and aloe sprouted from its stomach. I grabbed a few leaves at a time and set to work healing Wolf. I covered every important wound in time, but the knife was still in her collarbone. I didn't want to move it, but, if I didn't, she would die. I pressed my hands onto the hilt, and swallowed deeply. I didn't want to do this.

I bit my lip and held my breath. I slowly pulled out the knife, warm blood dripping from the blade as I concentrated on the task at hand.

I quickly covered the wound and stared like an idiot. It was the only thing I could do.

It was dangerous to move the body, and even if it was dangerous, I didn't have the strength.

'The others could probably do it.' I thought.

I shook my head to rid the thought.

xXxXx

After hours of sitting, I still waited. The night was still pitch dark, and everything was quiet.

A moan pierced the night.

I looked down quickly to Wolf, her eyes fluttering open. She slowly looked around, and then set her eyes on me, and instantly glared. I bit my bottom lip in return. But I did not back down.

I stayed.

Wolf didn't give up. She just kept glaring. She just glared at me, as if I was going to hurt her. She glared at me as I watched her in her weakest form. But, she didn't move. She didn't even flex a muscle. She rarely blinked.

Her blinking was the only thing that told me that she was alive.

Her breathing had almost stopped. Or so it seemed. When I would look closer, her chest only moved a bit, and would slowly cave in while she silently exhaled. But no matter what, she kept glaring.

I summoned my courage and spoke. "W-why do you hate me?" I just wanted to know.

I looked at the ground, not able to meet her eyes any longer.

"Why don't you hate me?" Was her answer.

My eyes widened in shock. _How _could I hate her? She hadn't done anything wrong, she was just surviving.

"B-but why would you think that?! You're a nice person! You'r-"

"A monster." She finished, but that was the opposite of what I was going to say. "Do you know why and how I became like this? All bloody and broken? It's because I killed someone. She was my age. She paid the price. Do you know what I did to her? I shoved a pipe into her stomach and drove it through her ribcage. Did you know? That I was grinning as I tried to kill her. How could you know? I tried to kill you as well. Do you know why? You don't belong here, go home." She closed her eyes. She meant what she said.

Two words repeated in my head over and over and over again.

'_Go Home._'

I stayed. A shadow over my eyes and my head bent. I just stayed were I was. Not moving. I trembled a little bit.

I didn't like it. I didn't like being hated. But, I had never wronged her, not that I remember.

Wait.

I did.

In the beginning.

"I'm sorry." I muttered.

Wolf looked my way and looked shocked.

"I'm sorry." I said this a bit louder, wanting to be heard, yet not be heard. I didn't know why.

"I'm sorry, that I did something bad. I'm sorry, that we trespassed without you permission! I'm sorry!" I bowed, Wolf staring at me wide eyed.

I heard Wolf move, and I flinched. I looked up to apologize, to see her hand close to my head.

She was just trying to say that she was sorry. She just wanted to pat my head. She was trying to be nice.

And I thought she was going to hurt me.

I was wrong.

Wolf slid her hand back, and placed it over her head. She waited before saying anything.

I was just shocked on what I had done.

"Do you know why I was named Wolf?"

"N-no."

"It's because Serpent believed that I was a wolf in my past life. But, I wonder, that if Demon was a demon. He's half now, so, what was he then? Or was he nothing? What will he be reincarnated? Another demon? Or a human?"

I sat back up and smiled. "Rin will be Rin."

"…yeah."

xXxXx

The ice had been broken around an hour ago. And we were reaching the topic which I didn't want to go into.

"So, did you pass Rock's second part of the test?" Wolf asked.

She had been moved into a sitting position once she was well enough to move a bit and the bleeding had stopped.

"No. We failed. We didn't know-"

"You didn't know that the second part of the test was the exact same as the first part?"

I nodded with a small cute grunt, and Wolf laughed.

"Yep, that's Rock for ya'. He likes to catch people at their weakest. Or, instead of catch, it's more like crush. For the first part of the test, all you had to do was try and not give up. In the second part, you had to stay at a certain level, in order to pass. But, there is always something different about one of the two tests. The key is finding it and figuring it out, then you can pass with ease. Look at Rock, he's a lanky guy, not a muscle in him compared to Crow! But, that's the point. Be the opposite of what the opponent expects. You didn't get a single word I said, did you?" Wolf asked, her face blank.

"Nope, not a bit." I said, practically seeing smoke rising from my head.

Wolf smiled, but when I looked down the alley, I could see Wolf's serious face in the corner of my eye.

She was watching me. Planning out every little thing with her newly gathered information.

For some reason, I had the feeling that things didn't go as planned.

Not for Wolf.

Not for us.

Not for Rin.

And definitely, not for fate.

xXxXx

**A/N: Ooooooooooh. Cliffy. **

**Yep. Ending it there. But, be happy! This chapter is waaaaay longer than the others! Plus, I updated faster than usual!**

**Anyways:**

**(1) Ok! For the fight, I was literally going 'Ew. Ew. Ew.' Why? Because, it's not very smart for a girl, who hates the sight of blood, writing about a bloody fight, making it as bloody as she could for her fans. Yep. Not smart. And, I WAS NOT grinning!**

**(2) You have no idea how badly I wanted to end it there! I was dying to! But, I couldn't, because it would be the shortest chapter in history.**

**(3) Ok, seriously! Don't bitch to me how bad my Shiemi POV was! I know it was horrid, but, I just could grasp her character in her POV! If it was normal, I would have done better, but, I hadn't done a Shiemi POV yet, so, I tried my luck. And, I promise never to do her POV again, just normal POV for her. I promise!**

**(4) Once again! I had to reread my ENTIRE fight scene and for a person who hates blood, it didn't work out so well. Plus, I wanted to make the bullets go to the stomach, but no matter how strong, humans can't survive that harsh treatment, even if I wanted to.**

**(5) Just telling, but I have NO medical vocabulary and I didn't feel like going onto Google and looking it up. So, I used the famous Aloe plant from Ao No Exorcist….Damn…now I want to rewatch the series again…..damn.**

**So, that's it for notes! Oh, and I want to say thank you for 4,000 views! OMG! I feel loved by random strangers! **

**Ok, just to tell you, but I still need feedback on my poll. I need more votes to know the outcome! So far, Rin is winning. And for my contest, which is still on, Rin is winning as well! Oh yeah! I like Rin. But, for the contest, only one person sent in their opinion. So…**

**I WANT TWO THINGS FOR THANKSGIVING, OK!**

**I WANT MORE POLL VOTES**

**I WANT MORE CONTEST RESULTS (well, it's just for fun, but I still want to see the outcome. Plus, they'll get more love in the story. Sooooo, if you're a Yukio fan, then more Yukio! If you're a Rock fan, who is a telepath and can follow you without knowing, then there will be more Rock! If you're a Rin fan…well, this fanfic is based on him, so, there will obviously be more Rin!**

**Why? Because, I want to. I'm special that way. And, if you added an ED to the end of special. Not funny. **

**Thanks for reading! R&R! :3**


	11. Poison And The Throwing Of Bodies

**A/N: This chapter took me a while to write because, well, because of many things. Christmas, tests, homework, planning for the anime con nearby, and planning a basic outline for this story, so, yeah. But you don't care about that, since once I'm done you'll be reading this. Oh well.**

**Wolf: Just shut up!**

**Me: Hey! You shut up, bitch!**

**Wolf: Wow. Look who's gotten some backbone since you've last written.**

**Me: Y-yeah**

**Wolf: I was wondering when I was going to get out of that alley….**

**Me: hehe…well, you see…**

**Rock: Elusive Panther doesn't own Ao No Exorcist.**

xXxXx

Blood. Blood was everywhere. Why? I didn't understand. Yet, I didn't want to understand. But, deep down, I understood everything. It was just the fact that blood covered the object in my hands, and blood slid down my arm, coating my hand as well. But it wasn't my blood, though. It was theirs. You can see them too, can't you? They just lie there, broken. And dead. Very dead. Some have bullets in their heads, some were beaten to death. I can see their souls floating around me, yet, I don't. What would he think of me? If he knew what I was going? Would he hate me? Or would he fear me, for all of the blood on my hands? What would Yukio think of me? His own brother, killing other humans? But, please understand, Yukio, that I have to. Please don't hate me. Don't fear me. Don't point a gun at me, and pull the trigger, just like what I did only seconds ago. But, the one thing I hate is their words. They called to their comrades, and shouted that the demon was coming. The monster. The devil. They even called me an unbaptized limb of Satan, in their last breath. Is it true, Yukio? Am I really a demon, a devil, a monster? Please tell me. What the hell am I?

xXxXx

Sunlight flittered into the room, making it seem a bit less bare. Unlike the other rooms though, I didn't have papers or random things here and there. I didn't have the need. Yes, I had a few manga books here and there and even a few middle school text books in my desk, if anyone wanted to use them, but, besides that. Nothing. But there was something. In my dresser. It wasn't nothing, but it wasn't something either. It was an object that could take lives in an instant.

A gun. A bloody gun, covered in the blood of others, haunting me. Destroying me from the inside. But, my own blood was on it too, as well.

xXxXx

A cloud passed over the sun and the sunlight quickly returned. I groaned at the bright light, and opened one eye. I scanned the room, and remembered the night before. They had failed. And I was the one to bring them back to the city by nightfall. My eyes caught the shine of a small glass bottle, its contents making a fiery glow cast along the walls. Ignis Venefious. My eyes narrowed. Why had I said that I would be the one to send them back? Why was I the one to 'get rid of' my own friends and my own brother? Why did I have to?

xXxXx

Screams filled the night, and laughter rang among the kitchen of Laughing Shadows base. Empty plates were piled on the table, and I quietly got up from the table to fix some drinks. I opened the fridge and pulled out some punch, and filled all of the necessary drinks, but hesitated on filling the last glass.

I didn't want to poison my friends, but, it was the rules. Anyone who broke the rules was heavily punished. But, if I didn't, then my own brother would be hurt in the end. And I wouldn't be able to suffer another loss. First was Serpent, then Shiro. But, please, not Yukio. Not my own brother.

I quickly pulled the vile of poison out of my sleeve, and entered part of its contents into each of the glasses. I smirked at the memory of Serpent shoving Ignis Venefious down our throats in order for us to be immune. That was one of the memories which brought the burning sensation to your mouth just thinking about it.

I put all of the glasses on a thick metal tray and walked back over to the laughter, and started laughing along, trying to act casual. I handed to drinks out around the table and sat down in my chair, next to Wolf. I looked over to her in the corner of my eye, and she gave a small nod. I sent my gaze over to Crow and gave him my own nod. Crow then stood up and spoke a few words for a toast.

"To life!" He shouted, and everyone said the same back to him in agreement.

"To life…" I muttered, gazing down into my glass. I tilted the drink back and drank the whole thing in one go. I set my glass back on the table, and watched as everyone watched me, in pure surprise. I gave them one of my famous smiles, and everyone took a huge sip of their own drinks. I leaned back in my chair and waited for the poison to take effect in my own body. It would slowly take effect after ten minutes, and then inch its way from your mouth, then to your throat, and then finally end up in your heart, making it seem as if someone was pouring acid into your soul. It wasn't painless, but, it didn't kill you.

I glanced once more at Wolf, who was covered in bandages. I leaned over and whispered into her ear.

"Do I want to know who or what hurt you so badly?"

"No. Just a now dead girl." Wolf smirked into my ear.

I leaned away and smiled a strained smile, but I knew Wolf could sense my uneasiness. I looked away, and could sense a pair of eyes burn into me. I searched around the table, and saw that Shima was the one. I looked at the contents of his glass, and saw that he hadn't touched his drink. He knew.

He knew of what had been set into play. But it was too late, and he knew this as well. I mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' and turned my attention to the others, as they would soon taste the effects of the poison. It was over. The end.

They grabbed their throats, and curled up on the floor, like dead flies. It was horrid. I quickly turned away. I couldn't watch it. But, I had to, so, I looked back. I saw the hate in their eyes as they looked up at me.

I didn't want this, you know.

I'm sorry. Do you understand?

Please forgive me, but, please hate me. Hate me so you won't come back.

If you come back, you'll die.

I can't suffer another loss, okay?

Please understand.

Please understand that you were some of the first true friends that I've ever made in the light.

I'm sorry.

Do you understand?

Do you understand, Yukio?

xXxXx

"Now what?" Wolf asked.

"Let's shove back over the border, ne?" Crow answered.

Rock and I stayed quiet. Rock clamped a hand on my shoulder, making me tense.

"Are you sure you want to do this? They're your friends, no?" He whispered.

I brushed his hand off of my shoulder, and took a step forward. "It's too late. They already hate me. They trusted me, yet….never mind. It doesn't matter. Whether or not we are friends is up to them. Not me."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

No. I wasn't.

I wasn't sure on anything. It was just one step at a time. Keep moving forward, and ignore the past has hard as I could.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

xXxXx  
Wolf's POV

"And heave. And heave. And heave.-"

"Wait, not ready!"

"-And stop." (1)

"Ugh. Make up your mind Crow, you bastard! Instead of giving us orders, how about you lend some muscle!" I grunted next to Demon, how casually held his end of the body.

Well, he tried to be casual. He wasn't doing too well. He didn't want to do this, but he knew the rules. He knew danger first hand. He knew that he himself belonged to three worlds. (2)

I turned back to Crow.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Rock, you ready?" He called down.

We were at the edge of the slums, on a rooftop which hung right over the Boarder, by about five or four feet. Down at the bottom, Rock waited, staring up at us as we were about to drop the pink head down to him from about, um, twenty feet. Hey, we were being nicer than usual, most of the time we just dump 'em and let them crack their head open or snap their neck.

"Ready." Rock said.

"Now."

Me and Demon heaved the body down. I watched Demon run over to the edge and made sure every single of one his friends got down without an injury. Sometimes, Demon would run over so fast, he himself would slide off the end and he would have to either grab the sharp edge of the metal roof and pull himself up, or drop and somehow land on the Boarder itself, then find his way back to me.

But, somehow, even though I knew he wasn't all human, he still amazed me with his skill. When one thought of a demon, they would normally think of a beast, a creature from a horror movie or a unimaginable monster from a classic gory movie. But, no one would guess that a demon was Rin. But, Rin was my boyfriend. My demon. Mine alone.

xXxXx  
Shima's POV

When I woke, I was in bed. In the exact clothes I had on in the slums. In my dorm. In my room.

I was really thinking why the hell I was in my room. All I remembered was not drinking the juice, watching everyone fall, and then Rock punching me in the gut.

I jumped out of bed, and immediately things ran through my mind a thousand miles per hour; Rin, the slums, Demon, being thrown off a roof, Crow, crazy hot girl, Bon, laughing bloody corpses, and Izumo.

I ran out the door, and into Bon's room, and then pounded on the door like no tomorrow.

**A/N: Done! I'm SO sorry that it took so long. I had writer's block for a little while, and it didn't help that I had a busy schedule. Sorry that this chapter was so slow, but it will be a bit more interesting in the next chapter. **

**Anyways:**

**(1) What anime movie is "And heave. And heave. And stop." From?**

**(2) Who can guess what the three worlds Rin is in, or in between?**

**Okay, that pretty much wraps that up. I'm still surprised when everyone thinks that, in the beginning, Wolf was a freakin daisy. But, I also laugh because, well, before I started writing this, I had intended to make her a goody two shoes. I mean, I'm talking about her wearing dresses, skirts, her hair in pig tails, and no metal bat that you're all so fond of.**


	12. Questions And Answers Of The Slums

**A/N: Ok. Trying to update faster. I know my last chapter was horrible, but, if you kept reading, thank you for suffering through it. It is very much appreciated. So, I want to try something new so I'll be answering reviews here, ne?**

**Wolf: No you won't.**

**Me: Why not?**

**Wolf: Because you're stupid and will lose all of your fans.**

**Me: N-no I won't!**

**Wolf: Are you sure about that?**

**Rin: Elusive Panther doesn't own Ao No Exorcist.**

xXxXx

A week had pasted since being poisoned, and the Esquires still didn't know what had happened. Multiple times had the thought of going back to slums crossed their mind, but, the labyrinth was too hard to get through, even if they tried.

So, their only choice was to stay put, go to cram school, and pass exams. Honestly, everyone thought it was a drag.

Every day, Shiemi would catch herself looking to her right to look at Rin during class, but, would be greeted by an empty seat.

Shiemi walked down the long hallway to cram class, but stopped when she heard footsteps behind her. She looked behind her to see Rin, waving and having a wide grin plastered to his face.

"Shiemi, what's wrong?" A voice asked.

Shiemi woke from her daze and the image of Rin disappeared, and Izumo appeared in front of her, looking at her with curious eyes and her usual scowl. Shiemi shook her head and smiled to Izumo. "Hello, Izumo-san. Sorry, I was spacing out." Shiemi laughed a bit and watched Izumo sigh and walk down the hallways to cram class.

Shiemi followed Izumo to class, eyes downcast. She didn't want to be there. She just wanted to see Rin's old smile, the happy silly smile she saw every day. But, even if she said anything, she would've already known the answer.

Shiemi followed Izumo into class and sat in her seat, her right side empty again. Class went by in a blur, and even how hard Shiemi tried to process the information, the facts about the difference between holy water and real water wouldn't make sense.

After class was over, no one got up from their seat. Nobody moved. It just wasn't the same without Rin. There was no Rin saying something stupid and obvious, leading to Bon shouting a few insults and explaining. No yelps as Rin was put into a head lock by Shura, and then protests as she dragged him back to training. No gunshots heard as Yukio would threaten Rin as he procrastinated on homework and no Kuro as he meowed on Rin's shoulders.

But, who was Rin?

Shiemi remembered the first time Wolf had really talked to her, inside Wolf's room.

'_Everyone, including Demon, has killed at least once.' _

That wasn't true, right? But, if it was, then, why?

She had already heard the story, about why Rin chose to fight, in order to protect not only his home, but Yukio as well. She had heard how he had joined, but, it still didn't make sense to her.

What she didn't get was that if Laughing Shadows could've gotten six bodies over the Boarder, and had gotten them all the way to True Cross, why didn't they come over to the city to live themselves?

xXxXx

Yukio sat at his desk in the cold dorm, piles of paperwork sprawled around him. He too, had questions of his own.

"I don't get it." Yukio muttered under his breath, not wanting to get caught talking to himself. Not only who he seem stressed, but also insane.

Like Shiemi, he wondered why Laughing Shadows didn't live in the city, if they themselves had brought them back. But, what if Laughing Shadows wasn't the one who brought them back, but someone else? Who exactly had told the teachers that they were sick? Who told the exorcists that they had been on a mission? Why hadn't Shura thought it was weird for all of this to be happening?

And, most of all, why had they never seen a single demon in the slums?

It was common sense for demons to harbor in dark places, and the slums should've been a breeding ground for any type of demon. Demons liked dark, dank places and people with dark natures, the perfect place to find both elements, would've been the slums. There were enough dead bodies for Ghouls and Naberius, and dust, fungi, and dirt for Coal Tar (1).

Yukio took a deep breath, staring out the window, into the cold darkness outside, trying to slow his mind. He had been an exorcist since he was seven now, there had to be a reasonable answer to everything. Father had taught him better.

There had to an answer. And it was likely that his brother had the answers.

xXxXx

_It was dark. It was cold. It was tight._

_And it stank._

That was all I remembered.

_The clanking of the railroad tracks rang out and the rocking of the train kept me awake. The footsteps of the guard walked back and forth in front of the crate I was hiding in. Many had tried to get on the train, so far, only me and some others managed to sneak aboard. _

Some of us knew where we were headed; some of us were just running.

_The train slowed to a stop, and I was moved, jostled, slid, and stacked until I ended up on a boat, rocking back and forth. I had peeked through the small hole in the side of the crate, and saw the waves moving back and forth, and land getting farther and farther away. _

_I saw no guards and expected it was alright, but I still didn't move. I didn't move until night. By the time I had crawled out, I instantly jumped into the water. I didn't know what to do. I was simply running._

_I saw the shore by the sunrise, and dragged myself out of the water and onto a rotting dock, running straight for a clump of buildings once I had regained my balance. The ground was dirty and wet, rats glared at me with red eyes as I sprinted past. I didn't know if anyone was still following._

_I had camped in dumpsters and molding boxes for many nights each place different. Every day I pasted a dead man, sometimes the blood still fresh, some had died months ago. They all reminded me of what I was running from. _

_I ran into people speaking a foreign language, and I mumbled an apology in English, not knowing if they understood me. But it labeled me as an outcast. I was different, so I strayed from the main streets. I tried to get out of the town, but a wall stopped me every time. It was after one of my many attempts of running from the town did I meet him._

_He didn't look like much, but he was obviously bigger and stronger than me, and had several scars up and down his arms, most of them scabbed over. He wore a white T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He was around eleven, while I was only nine. _

"_Haven't seen you around, you new?" He asked in rough English._

"_None of ya' business." I replied._

"_I'll take that as a yes. What your name?"_

"_None of ya' business." I repeated._

"_Fine."_

_His fist appeared in front of my face and I stood my ground, his eyes glaring at me, and his bleached hair lit up by the moonlight. _

"_The name's Crow, remember it if you want to live."_

"_Whatever." I said blankly, trying my hardest not to show fear._

_Crow fumed at my comment, but quickly hid his emotions, only letting a smirk playing on his lips._

"_I like your style, Rock." He smirked, trying to get under my skin._

"_Rock?" My eyes narrowed briefly, trying to be intimidating._

"_Your new name, like or not. Follow me." He pulled away, and walked down an alley, me following only a few paces behind. He lead me into an untraveled maze, and a large cement building loomed above us, blood splattered to the sides._

"_Wha-"I started to ask one of my many questions forming in my mind, only to be cut off._

"_Welcome to Laughing Shadows, Rock." _

"_What? Why?" I asked, staring up at the huge building, light shining from most of the rooms._

"_You don't have a home, and you seem strong, so, if you pass the tests, will you join? I'll teach you Japanese, and you'll fit in, besides, I'll be here if you need me, so, will ya~?" Crow grinned ear to ear, his eyes closed in happiness, and a warm aura coming off of him._

_I nodded, and Crow walked over to a heavy metal door, trying to pull it open. I walked over and pulled it open. Crow stared at me in shock, and grinned._

It was so simple back then.

Now, only chaos.

xXxXx

'I guess they're not happy.' I smirked, at I dodged a volley of bullets and turned a corner, dashing in and out of alleys, my 'happy volunteers' still chasing.

I needed them off my trail, and soon. And yet, it was so interesting. It had been a while I had been chased on the ground, rather than the roofs.

After a mile, I was tiring of my fun game, and jumped on top of a dumpster and onto the nearest roof, thankful for the closely packed housing. I heard annoyed shouts as my 'happy volunteers' saw my disappearing form, hearing a very colorful vocabulary from most of them.

It was so interesting how people came up with insults.

I quickly sobered when I saw Laughing Shadows base in the distance, the sun rising in the east and I quickened my pace. I jumped from the my path of rooftops and hit the hard cement below, a spike of pain running up my legs, but I quickly shook my head and walked forward, towards home.

I pulled the heavy metal door open, and closed it, and walked into the living room, only to have Crow stop me from getting to the stairs.

"You get anyone?"

I sighed, and turned. "Does it look like it? If I had gotten anyone, wouldn't I have brought them here?"

"I guess."

"And what about you?" I challenged. "It looks like you had as much luck I did. What about Demon and Rock?" I asked.

"Nothing. This war isn't looking good." Crow leaned against a wall, eyes down cast.

"So," I said, "are we going to die?"

"I dunno."

xXxXx

**A/N: Ok, I'm finally done! I've had writer's block for a while now, actually, currently. So, I decided to sit my ass down and get to work, so, I'm sorry for the horrid chapter. Truthfully, this chapter was my chapter of "clearing up unnecessary questions" if you guys had any. So, let's see, cleared up Rock's past, how Rock and Crow met, how Rock joined, whether or not the Esquires were still alive from the last chapter, and why the teachers or exorcists. But, at the same time, made even more questions. Sigh.**

**So, if you have questions you want to be answered later in the story, review them to me. And, if you're a guest, still review, the more questions asked, the answered, the better the storyline is to understand. **

**I'm a very confusing person.**

Anyways:

**(1)Whose kin are the Coal Tar, Ghouls, and Naberius?**

**Oh, and a few more things.**

**I've stopped the poll for the new leader for LS. Rin won!**

**Put up a fun poll if you want to guess my age, depending on my writing. Good luck guessing! X3**

**OK, for those who are annoyed at my slow updates, at the bottom of my profile, I keep a progress report which is updated every time I finish writing for the day. Sorry for the slow updates! ****Komenosai****!**

**OK! FOR THE ANSWERS TO LAST CHAPTERS QUESTIONS!**

**#1: The answer for "And heave. And heave. And stop." Was the movie "Castle in the Sky", for those of you who guessed "Spirited Away", good guess, but the quote from Spirited Away never said "And stop." So, I'm sorry for those who got it wrong, don't yell at me! *hides in corner***

**#2: Everyone who guessed got it right! There were multiple answers so; I'll just name those who guessed right! Ok: AnimeKpopKawaii, Superpixie11, and Ichiruzuka!**

**And, for those wondering. No, no I am not dead. I'll leave a notice when I do though. XD**


	13. Decisions And A Path Chosen

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! Strange, isn't it? I know this chapter is short, but, hey, its actually longer than chapter 11 and 12! *smiles* *gets hit in the head* Who did that?! *looks around cautiously*. Anyways, thank you all for your support and enjoy the chapter!**

**Crow: How can you say that when you haven't done the disclaimer yet?**

**Me: Then you do it.**

**Crow: I don't want to.**

**Me: Fine! I do not own Ao No Exorcist or their amazing characters.**

xXxXx

"Well, that's a great help." Wolf blankly stated, not amused by his answer.

"Well, we are out matched, considering there is only four of us, and over two thousand of them. It's simply an impossible defeat. Do the math, each of us would have to kill, or defeat, 625 people, and without getting killed ourselves, it's simply suicide. Even if one of us dies, then the other three would have to take up your end of lives." Crow said, his eyes meeting Wolf's.

"The only way to win is to set off a bomb, near the power source, which would be in the basement, and burn the building from the bottom, up. But, the major flaw would be if any of us were trapped upstairs, they would be good as dead." Rin said, appearing in the doorway, leaning against the metal frame.

"Then the only question is; are we willing to take the risk? If we do set off a bomb, is it worth one of our lives? What would we be like if one of us died? Would we even be able continue living? Or would we, one by one, commit suicide? We are family, each of us keeping the other alive. If one dies, we all die." Rock stated, coming from upstairs, coming to sit in a wooden chair, eyes looking at the floor.

"We should be thinking about the present, not the 'what if's." Wolf said, sitting in the window sill.

"No, we should think about all of the possibilities of loss. We should be thinking about whether it's a good idea to be buying certain amounts of ammo, whether or not to get the ingredients for a high explosive, or if or if not we should be armed with blades. From now on, we should continue with caution, or it will kill us before the fight, not only physically, but mentally as well." Rock countered.

"Either way, we don't have much time. We only have ten days until battle, and, honestly, we all know they won't fight fair. Already they have attacked Demon, but also Wolf, who thankfully won. But if they attack with more than one person the next round, they will win. It was an easy feat to kill Himitsu, but only because Rin was an actual demon. As for Wolf, it wasn't so simple. She won only because of the small amount of demon blood flowing through her veins, herself. Remember the raid three years ago, back when Demon had gotten shot with a poisoned bullet, and how Wolf sucked the poison out of his arm? On accident, she had gotten a bit too much demon blood into her blood stream, so, not only do we have two part demons on our side, but all of us can see demons, whether or not this gives us an upper hand or not is unknown, but it's not completely useless." Crow said, now playing with a small knife. It was Himitsu's knife, and the knife that killed her.

"I'm not sure whether or not using demonic power is a fair fight, considering that we are going against humans, even though our intentions aren't exactly righteous." Rock said, unsure, reminding everyone how he was only a fourteen year old teenager.

"It doesn't matter. Did anyone else sense it, or was it only me, who sensed that the leader of Bloody Lucifer wasn't human? He was a demon, but he wasn't possessed, no, he was a full on demon. I did some asking around, and found that Bloody Lucifer had once been on the bottom of the food chain, but once Dragon, or Shinto, their current leader, had been moved to power, they had instantly grown in power, reasons unknown. So, fairness isn't a worry. As for one, if he had come from Gehenna, then he came because of Satan." Rin said, glaring at the floor. (1)

"Wait, Satan actually exists?" Wolf gasped, eyes wide in shock.

"Yeah, and he killed my old man." Rin spat.

'_And I'm his son.' _Rin bit back.

"Well, then, looks you got a score to settle, considering if he killed your old man, even after everything you sacrificed. So, since you have the most intelligence in this field, I think we should raise arms and decide on the next leader of Laughing Shadows, ne~?" Crow smiled lazily

"So one of us, eh? Sounds good. I vote; Rin." Rock stated calmly, using his real name.

"I agree. I vote for Rin." Crow closed his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Rin looked to Wolf, half of him proud that they would vote for him to be the next leader, but also scared to take on the role.

Wolf looked into his eyes, and casted her vote;

"Rin."

Rin stood there, shocked, but didn't bother to refuse. It was three against one, a lost cause if he had bothered to argue.

"Thanks, everyone. I'll try my hardest, and I plan to make everyone get through this alive. I promise." Rin closed his eyes and smiled his famous smile, a huge grin, showing his sharp canines.

When Rin opened his eyes, his friends were smiling back at him. They believed in him, and they placed their lives in his hands. He felt happiness swell within him, and he grinned and laughed, everyone joining in the end, nothing serious in the air at all. Everyone knew it was a stupid thing to do, but, it felt right. They were going to enjoy the moment until it was gone.

xXxXx

It was almost midnight the next night, and Rin knocked on Wolf's door. Wolf opened the door slowly, but smiled when she saw her boyfriend.

"C'mon, I have something to give you." Rin smiled, and took Wolf's hand, dragging her out of her room.

Rin weaved down the hallways, towing his girlfriend with him. Rin opened a door and let go of Wolf's hand and moved aside to show her the rooftop. Wolf looked up at Rin in curiosity; his eyes told her that he had planned something. Rin walked over to ledge, and sat down, his legs swinging in the light wind.

Wolf walked up and sat next to him, her legs also draped over the abyss. Before Wolf could ask Rin what was going on, he pulled a box wrapped in newspaper tied with twine (2). As Rin handed the box to Wolf, he started to stutter, mostly about pointless things, but Wolf ignored him anyways. Not because she didn't care, but, well, Rin was Rin.

Wolf carefully took the package from his hands and he looked away, glad Wolf couldn't see his light blush in the dark. Wolf struggled with the twine at first, but got irritated by the string, and quickly snapped it free from the box in one pull, deeply denting the box. Wolf unwrapped the newspaper, tearing it apart only to find a small cardboard box, only a little smaller than her hand (3). Wolf looked up at Rin, giving him a what-the-heck-is-this-? - look. Rin just nodded his head, eager to see Wolf's face. Wolf slowly looked back at the small box, and opened it, keeping her eye on Rin. She opened the top of the box and slid a cold object into the palm of her hand. Her eyes widened as she turned it around in her hands, its surface shining in the moonlight. Wolf looked up to Rin in disbelief, wondering how he had gotten the money to buy her one. Wolf wrapped her arms around Rin's shoulders, and kissed him. His eyes widened at Wolf's sudden act, but quickly kissed back. Once they pulled away, Wolf hugged him. After a few minutes, she pulled back and sat back in her original seat. She looked at the emerald phone in her hand, and looked to Rin when he started to speak.

"Well… I thought it would be better than you tearing up vocal cords howling all the way to True Cross…so…I thought this would be better. Sorry it's not the best, but-"

"Rin Okumura, do you think I look like a girl who would give a damn about the model or shit like that?" Wolf said, looking him in the eye.

He smirked and gave a simple "Not at all."

For the next hour, they fussed and joked around, trying to figure out the phone's settings, and by sunrise, they were dead tired and very ready for sleep, but had another long day of searching and gathering supplies. Rin sighed and stood up, stretched, and then helped Wolf up. They started to walk to the exit, Rin lagging behind in the end, complaining under his breath how it should be a sin to have to work, but Wolf pushed him from behind, trying to get her boyfriend to start moving a bit faster. Rin groaned in protest, but still walked faster either way, complying too Wolf's wishes.

xXxXx

"So, Demon, what's our next step?"

"We have eight days left, not much time."

"We have ta' decide now."

Rin looked up and started to walk out the door.

"Simple. Gather ammo, get a bomb, three blades per person, and search for any willing volunteers along the way. Do not attack any Bloody Lucifer members until the fight. This is war."

xXxXx

"I'm bored."

"Quit your whining, Shima!" Bon scolded.

"I don't wanna! With Rin gone everything's boring." Shima said, leaning back in his chair.

"Did you forget, or do remember it was that idiot who dumped us back here in the first place." Bon glared, but went back to his book.

"Maybe Rin didn't want us to get hurt?" Miwa said, looking up at his two friends.

Bon sighed, and started talking to Miwa, trying to change the subject. Shima just kept staring up at the ceiling, hoping it would fall away. He knew fully well what had happened. He knew because they had failed the first of the four tests they had been poisoned and dragged back to True Cross. It was a simple way of saying "you don't belong here", and even though Rin had never said that to their faces, he saw it in his eyes. But, that saying wasn't hateful; it was more like pity, sorrow, and regret.

Bon was right; Rin did keep too many secrets. And it was eating Rin away.

xXxXx

Yukio walked into class with his usual knowing look on his face, ready to teach, but instead, informed his small class something different than the next lesson.

"Today we have another mission." Yukio said calmly as everyone looked at each other curiously.

"What do you mean 'mission'?" Izumo said cautiously, eyeing the young teacher.

"What is it, Yuki-chan?" Shiemi said, tilting her head to the side.

Yukio spoke with a small smile and his glassy shining in the light.

"Simple. We have a mission to drag Rin back home."

xXxXx

**A/N: I'm done! For now….. but, sadly for some of you, we are getting close to the final fight, which means the end of this story. Sigh. But if you want a sequel please review it or PM me, either one is fine! **

**Anyways:**

**Okay, I know that in the anime Satan did die and all that, but for this small piece of information, Satan will be alive. Sorry.**

**So, to me, a present wrapped in twine and newspaper would be amazing. I'm just weird that way.**

**Yeah. So, this part has a bit of history between me and my friend. Well, I guess I wrap presents super tight, and everyone has to take a pocket knife to their present every year, so, to get back at me, my friend had the idea of wrapping my Christmas present in TWENTY-SEVEN layers of thick wrapping paper. So, yeah, it was hilarious. And we still joke about it to this day. **

**For the answer to the question!**

**For those who guessed, only one person got it right. The answer was "Astaroth, king of rot". Thank you for guessing, but the question was "Whose KIN are the Coal Tar, Ghouls, and Naberius?"  
Good job FD!**

**Yep, um…..anything else? Um….. oh yeah! Warning. **

**So, In the next chapter or so, please do not read if you didn't like the gory fights, swearing, violence, blah, blah, blah. You get the picture. **

**So, for those you who were wondering "why the fuck isn't there any demons when this is an Ao No Exorcist fic?" your question is answered. **

**Oh, and one more thing! Please tell me what I should do:**

***SHOULD THIS STORY BE RATED M FOR FUTURE PLANS?***

**Thank you and have a nice day.**


	14. Time Draws Near And Hope Lives On

**A/N: Ok. Hey. What's up? I hadn't been working on this story (or any stories) since my last update because of plans. So, I was bored and decided to write.**

**Wolf: You woke me up.**

**Me: Well then. Who woke up on the wrong side of the bed?**

**Wolf: You're the one keeping me up.**

**Me: Can it. Anyways. I do not own Ao No Exorcist, only my OCs.**

xXxXx

Back then, I didn't understand what everything meant. I didn't understand what my parents were doing to me as they left me in the slums.

All I remembered was being woken up harshly, my bed creaking and groaning, my covers being ripped off of me, and the cold air. I quickly grabbed Mr. Snuffykins as my mother grabbed my wrist and started to drag me out of my small room, my short legs stumbling forward.

My mother dragged me out of our small apartment, me taking a small note of the lack of objects missing from their usual and proper places; father's laptop, mother's jewelry box, mother and father's clothes and shoes, and anything else valuable or necessary for living.

My mother tugged sharply at my wrist and roughly opened the car door and shoved me into the backseat, closing the door with a loud bang. After that, I only remembered hugging Mr. Snuffykins tightly to my chest, and staring at the clean floor of the barren backseat, my body slightly rocking to the bumps in the road.

As time progressed and rocking of the car became more and more rough and sharp, making me start to tremble in fear, not liking the instinct of fear in my gut. I quickly glanced out the window, only seeing winding roads and dark eerie alleys and other small roads. I set my stare to the back of my parents' heads. My father was handsome and buff, clean shaven head and had a small beard, tall and bulky. And, definitely stronger than the average man. My mother was probably around the opposite of my father. She was average height, skinny and elegant, lithe and the body of a runner.

The car jolted to a stop, and both my mother and father got out.

For a quick second, I thought they were going to leave me, alone in the car, forever, but my father opened my door and helped me out. We were in a grimy alley, trash and slime on the edges of the small brick path. My mother came to stand by my father, and kneeled down. I remember her word's exactly.

"Remember, Ami, stay here. Mommy and Daddy will be right back, okay? Stay here and be a good girl. Now, Ami, remember, no matter what, Mommy and Daddy love you. We'll be right back, okay?" I nodded. "Good. Good night, sweetheart."

Father then patted my head, and they walked back to the car, and then, a bit too quickly, drove off.

They never came back.

They left me.

I only then wished that they had left me in the car, and not in the street.

I was just left there, staring at where father's silver car had once been, holding Mr. Snuffykins limply in my small left hand, not sure how to respond in the current situation. So, I just stood there.

I stood there for three days, before they came.

It wasn't mother and father. It wasn't nice people like from my school.

They were bad people. The bad people that the police took away. Only that there was no police to come.

The next thing I knew, was on that night, I had made my first kill of many.

xXxXx

When I woke, it was the morning of the seventh day. Seven days. One week. One week till the fight.

One week till death. One week to live.

What was going to happen? What will happen to me? What will happen to the others?

No, stop it. Enough.

One step at a time.

One step at a time, Wolf.

xXxXx

"**Fuck!**"

"Another dead end." Yukio muttered under his breath.

"We can see the damn building, yet, we can't even get close to it!" Bon yelled.

"Well…it can't be helped…" Miwa said, putting his hands up, trying to calm his friend down.

"We've been walking for how long?" Shima groaned, and leaned his hand on a wall, but quickly pulled away, only now noticing a corpse in a nearby corner.

"Dead bodies but no demons…" Izumo muttered.

"Strange, isn't it?" Yukio said to no one, but took a step forward towards the dead body. "How usually corpses are taken over by demons, but here, none are?" Yukio bent down, and examined the body.

It was a fairly fresh kill, blood still wet in some places. A wicked knife was lodged in the man's chest, his head was up, staring at something, and his eyes bright blue, as if he had only just been murdered.  
Yukio looked behind, toward the direction the man was looking. There, bright as day, Laughing Shadows base. But, how to get to it? Yukio remembered how Wolf, well Himitsu who was impersonating as Wolf, used the roof tops, instead of the ground, but, Rin himself used the ground, and yet he walked through the maze like nothing. If they chose the roof tops, how would they get up?

Yukio sighed and stood up, then started to walk out to the main street, everyone following behind him. Soon enough, everyone had started up their own conversations, and Yukio was left with his thoughts.

He needed to find someone who was still alive, and had seen Laughing Shadows as it was years ago, but, all of the members from that time were dead, or had gone to different gangs. And, if anyone saw him asking around about a dead gang, it would be obvious that they were from the city. In a nearby store, a sign read 'fresh food' and an old man sat in a chair, with a smile on his face, mostly likely the manager. Yukio headed over, getting curious glances from the others, and walked in.

Yukio walked over and picked up a candy bar, not sure what kind, and kept his eye on the old man. He quietly placed his purchase on the counter, watching the old man smile, still not noticing him. Yukio coughed into his hand a bit, and the old man's smile dropped, and he jumped out of his chair. He quickly scanned the candy bar, and told Yukio the total. Yukio sighed, and quickly got to the point of coming into the place.

"Excuse me, but, what do you know about the old gang, Laughing Shadows?" Yukio leaned on the counter, and glared, not up to games at the moment.

The man flinched, as Yukio expected, since he had polished this technique on Rin multiple times. But, the man's eyes became cold and steely.

"I know nothing. Pay up and leave."

"Why were you smiling?" Yukio asked.

"Is it wrong to be happy?" The manager shot back.

"No," Yukio said, pulling out his wallet, "I just don't see many people smiling around here, that, and we wish to get some information."

"About what?" The manager's voice was still cold and heartless, but at least he was listening.

"I told you, Laughing Shadows. Like, say, how to get to their base?" Yukio said, handing over a bit of cash.

The old man glared, registered the money, gave Yukio his change and candy bar, and spoke in a forced tone, through his teeth.

"Do I look like a LS member? No, now get out, Light Dweller. You don't belong here. This place isn't half as safe as it used to be, or, we'll find out in a week, depending on the victor. Now leave, get out while you can, before it's too late." The man turned away and started for the back room.

"Wait." Yukio yelled, stopping the old man in his tracks. "What do mean?"

"I mean that your stupid government is about to make the Border even taller than ever. But, get out while you can, because they can do it in a single night, without anyone knowing. You've been warned." And after that, the man left and went into the back room, out of sight.

Everyone stood there, shocked, staring at the spot where the old man once was. Izumo was the first to respond.

"Well, now what? The fight is in a week, the Border is going to be built even higher than before, and we have yet to find Rin. Any great ideas?" Izumo questioned, a slight glare in her eyes.

Everyone was silent, and most simply looked down at the floor, keeping their mouths shut. Izumo sighed and walked out, everyone following behind, solemn. Izumo followed a random path, turning corners and running down roads, Yukio and the Esquires following closely at her heels in a jog, even though she was only walking.

With Izumo's face stern and stubborn, she led them closer and closer to the base, in less than twenty minutes. Soon enough, they all were standing under the looming building, only a few yards away.

"So…" Shiemi said, wary. "W-where's the door?" Her head tilted to the side, eyes wide in curiosity.

"Izumo?" Miwa asked hopefully.

Izumo didn't answer.

"Great." Muttered Bon, sighing. "Just great."

xXxXx

"Bomb acquired, guns in stock, over a thousand bullets, plenty of bladed weapons, along with a few knuckle dusters, and multiple grenades. We're well in stock, Rin. But, no one's joined."

"Well, duh. Wha' ya' expect? They're probably afraid of losin' the fight and dyin' in a puddle of their own blood. Most people wouldn't do wha' we do for a livin'."

"True enough. But-"

"We have intruders."

"Wha'? That's impossible."

"Come look."

"They came."

Rin smiled. '_They came._'

Maybe they did have chance to live. Just maybe.

xXxXx

**A/N: Hey! I'm back- *dodges pitchfork* Okay then…. I can fully explain…..*dodges rock* Or not. **

**Announcements:**

**1. Okay, so this story will not be rated up to M, and thank you for everyone who replied to my questions! :3**

**2. As for a sequel, I've only got one reply, so, the question still stands: should I make a sequel, or should this be the only story with this plot?**

**3. I have gone back and fixed grammar and spelling errors, because not only many of you guys were getting fed up with it, but it started to get on my nerves as well, so, if anyone sees something wrong (only major things like names, places, etc.), please review/PM it to me. Thank you!**

**4. The final fight is the next chapter, even though it was supposed to be the last chapter, but, oh well. *dodge rock* Okay, yes, I know, I dragged the story out, but…..I have no excuse.**

**5. So far, on my poll, the winning age people think I am is 17, if you think differently, vote! X3**

**So, anyways. Review. Blah blah blah. You know the drill. **

**So, thank you and have good day, ladies and gentlemen.**


	15. The Beginning

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry I took so long to update! Was taking finals and exams, and they were really tough, so, instead of writing, I was studying. I'm glad it's over!**

**Wolf: Shut up.**

**Me: Fine. I do not own Ao No Exorcist or its characters.**

xXxXx

"Holy Hell."

"No going back." Rin muttered, under his breath, but no one caught his whisper.

"Shall we go over the plan once more?" Wolf asked, staring up at the huge building looming above them.

The building was about three times bigger than Laughing Shadows' base, and its walls covered in steal plating, making it seem impossible to penetrate from the outside. Around the building was a ten foot fence with barbed wire on top, and the hum of electricity made everyone on edge. But, the one thing that made everyone keep their distance was the huge cloud of black swarming at the top of the building.

"T-those wouldn't be bugs, w-would they?" Shima asked shakily, trying to smile.

"No, they're demons. Coal Tar to be specific, but you can tell on the roof, that there's an even bigger demon, considering the fungi and ghouls." Yukio said, moving his glasses further up his nose.

"Let me get this straight. So, now we're not only going up against the top gang aroun', but also things we don't know how to kill?" Rock asked, staring wide-eyed up at the cloud of coal tar.

"And that's why we're here." Bon came forward, towards the fence, and looked beyond, to the first floor. One step at a time.

Crow spoke next, "Let's get this over with."

Rin nodded, and signaled for everyone to get into their positions, and to move on his mark.

'This is it.' He thought, trying to get some grip on his sanity. It was just like middle school, except this was on an entirely different scale. That, and he wasn't alone. He would have to protect not only himself, but the others as well, and to sure nothing happened.

Wolf put a hand on his shoulder, and tried to be brave, and Rin gave her one of his famous toothy grins.

Rin went first, and quickly hopped over the fence, using his rubber soled shoes to volt up and over the electric fence easily. After, he quickly disabled the fence with help from Rock telling his instructions from the other side. Soon enough, everyone was over the fence, and quickly went over the plan once more, then dispersed into their groups.

Crow and Rock got behind him, and they watched the Esquires get into position. Yukio and Shiemi got into position next to the back door, guns drawn and a knife in Shiemi's hand. Bon, Izumo, Miwa, and Shima crouched next to a basement window, weapons drawn.

Rin took a shaky breath, but went unnoticed, and approached the front door. Crow, Wolf, and Rock got behind him, guns and knives out, ready for the first shot fired. Rin closed his eyes, and counted to three.

_One…  
_The beating of his heart, thumping faster and faster.

_Two…  
_The clicks of loading guns above him, waiting.

_Three…  
_Adrenaline rushing, guns firing, everything in slow motion, the clash of blades.

It had begun.

xXxXx

"Who's master plan had it been to barge right through the front door again?!" Crow shouted over the gunfire.

"Don't ask me!" Rin shouted back, returning fire along with Rock.

"Does it matter?" Wolf yelled, knocking a guy out with her bat, blood once again staining its sleek surface.

Crow rolled his eyes, and fired a few shots and muttered a quick 'Not anymore.' under his breath, as he quickly launched a grenade in the general direction of the incoming fire. A catastrophic boom shook the building; screams of those who survived rang in Rin's ears, as he launched forward, into the hue of smoke. Footsteps echoed behind him, and Crow's breathe heaving faster as he picked up the pace. A tremor shook the building, the aftershock of the grenade, and a large rumble shook the ground under his feet, making everyone stop in surprise. Cracks started to form in the ceiling, making dust and dirt fall like rain, and with some urging, Rin got everyone to keep going, since staying in one place wouldn't help any, especially if the clock was already ticking.

More and more the rumbling grew by the second, and more and more men came running towards them, only to beaten down in a few seconds, and the more time they wasted, the less time they had to get out before the building they were standing would be a pile of rubble.

But, things got worse by the minute, as large cracks formed patterns in the ceiling and walls, making the ground they were running on, very unstable. Finally, they reached a stair case, but the last tremor shook the foundation loose, and huge pieces of cement came crashing down, separating the small party.

xXxXx

"Wolf! Rock! You okay over there?" Crow shouted, as Rin tried to move the giant stones, without making more damage.

"We're fine, but keep going, we'll be fine." Rock yelled back.

"Yeah," footsteps were heard on the other side, "plenty of prey on this side as well as yours." Wolf said, as the sound of metal to bone was heard.

"Got it, see you soon, okay guys?" Rin yelled, a sad smile playing on his lips.

"See you later, Rin" Wolf whispered, but was audible because of Rin's hearing.

Rin nodded, even though he knew his girlfriend couldn't see it, and tapped on Crow's shoulder to continue on, and they ran up the stairs, heading to the third floor. Climbing two at a time, Crow and Rin quickly got to the third floor, smashing down opponents along the way, not even bothering to care for the already weak foundation, even though there were no more tremors.

Rain pounded down onto the building, water running down the walls in small streams, and then forming a small lake at the bottom, only to disappear through the floor to the ground below.

xXxXx

"Fantastic, just what we need." Bon growled, as more and more water filled the small basement they were in, trying to hook up the bomb.

"They need better plumbing, obviously. But we shouldn't complain, since we did voluntarily come to help. Where's the C4?" Izumo said, looking in the small backpack they were given.

"Front pocket, Izumo-san." Miwa said, giving a small smile, piecing together the correct wires.

"Thanks. The faster we get this over with, the faster we get to safety any questions?" Izumo said, her head tilted up slightly, an act of leadership.

"No Ma'am." Shima smiled, with a small salute.

"Whatever, Eyebrows, move you're in the way." Bon growled.

xXxXx

Bullets bounced off of walls, guns blared, blood from wounded enemies painted the room, as Yukio returned fire, and Shiemi used Nii-chan, large roots growing out of the ground, and then quickly coming to the surface, to drag someone under.

Yukio and Shiemi had only gotten a few feet from the door before they were met with unfriendly gun fire, making them dive for cover almost immediately. Dangers tremors had shook the building's foundation loose, but brought good places to run and hide.

Yukio knew the risk of throwing a grenade would be idiotic, but, with the number of men firing at them, it was too much, even for an ace marksman like him. Also, he was an exorcist, not a killer. He had never even tried to hurt anyone besides throwing a few punches. He was never one start fights, or last long in one either. He wondered how his brother even managed to kill Himitsu, but deep down, Yukio knew Himitsu wasn't his brother's first kill.

The first thing that Yukio had ever killed intentionally was a low-class demon, nothing more. But he had been trained for that. Killing demons, nothing more.

'But no one taught Nii-san to kill, either. No one taught him how to take a life, or how to fight, or to even throw a punch.'

Rin had trusted his instincts when it came to fighting, while Yukio refused to use his instincts, and rejected it. So, it was time to accept it.

Yukio took a grenade in his hand, and quickly pulled the pin out with his teeth, tossing it quickly over his shoulder, covering his ears and closing his eyes, his last glimpse of Shiemi doing the same, with her face scrunched up, eyes closed, small hands over ears, waiting for impact.

The detonation roared, and more tremors followed in suit. The bright parking garage lights flickering, only a few keeping their glow. Waves of dust clouded the room, making it hard to breathe, and coughing from the survivors was heard.

Yukio and Shiemi were some of the few lucky ones, one of the living, not the dead. Dirt and grime covered their bodies, earning scratches and cuts on their arms and face, and dust covered hair were apparent. Yukio quickly recovered, pulled his guns out of his holsters, setting hell loose.

xXxXx

"Who's the jackass who did that?! I'll kill him!" Wolf raged, hitting a homerun with someone's head.

"Who knows, it might be a Lucifer member or somethin'." Rock replied calmly, punching some poor soul's face in.

"But still-"

"They might have simply been desperate. But either way, the foundation and walls have gotten weaker, meaning that explosion must have hit an important beam, making it pretty hard for Rooster and the others to even see what they're doing below, plus the water problem." Rock interrupted.

"And you say you didn't go to school? Jeez, didn't need a lecture on fucking physics or anything." Wolf growled, as metal hit bone, and as her fist landed in a man's face.

"Well, I did go for a few days, in my homeland. But it's not physics, its common sense." Rock frowned.

"Common sense, huh? Sounds stupid. Rock, to your right." Wolf laughed, as she advanced to the left, nearing a large man twice her size.

"Thanks." Rock shouted, as the shouting of more prey cam filtering in. "You get right, and I'll get left, 'kay?"

"Sounds divine."

xXxXx

"You think the others are okay?" Rin asked Crow as they ran, side by side.

"You know Wolf, she's probably having a field day down there, and Rock is probably fine, since he is one of us. As for your friends and brother, you know them better than me; you have to answer your own question first before you ask, Demon." Crow replied, a small smirk dancing on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, shuddup." Rin said, looking away, trying to hide his embarrassment from his fellow longtime friend.

'Bon, Izumo, Miwa, and Shima are probably fine, since the main force of Lucifer will be focused on us, but the explosion I heard was from where Yukio and Shiemi were. If that's true, then they're having a hard time.'

Rin shook his head to clear his thoughts, and looked ahead, just in time to see another stair case leading to the fourth floor, just beyond another annoying swarm of people.

"Let's get this party started!" Crow shouted, as he leapt into the air, soaring down into the heart of the crowd, blades at the ready.

Rin smiled and charged forward, raising havoc, and together, they would've made Bloody Mary weep.

xXxXx

**A/N: Okay, this is the end of the long awaited chapter! But, I'm not going to a freakishly long time with the next chapter, and I've already started writing it, actually, so, I'll post it when I can, but if I can't post soon, I'll post around the time school is finally out! I can't wait for summer! Woot! **

**Anyways, I won't be writing anymore stupid (1), (2), thingies because, well, I just don't want too. Too lazy, sorry if some of you guys liked me explaining the story a bit more, or something. **

**But, I will say this, thank you guys for voting on my poll, even though it has NOTHING to do with the story, well, kinda, but whatever. **

**UPDATE: I will be doing a sequel apparently, since most of guys want one, even though I haven't even finished the story yet….**

**So yeah, read and review, peeps, you know the drill.**

**So, thank you and have a good day/night/afternoon/morning/whenever you're reading this, ladies and gentlemen.**

**:3**


	16. The Fight Goes On

**A/N: Hello, everyone. Me again. Second part of the battle! Hell yea! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ao No Exorcist or any of its characters.**

xXxXx

The battle continued on for several more hours, but the sun had yet to rise. The basement Izumo was in was filling with water, blood, and debris from above. The room had severely darkened since the last explosion, and creaking of old wooden beams made the small group understand that the bomb they were setting up was barely needed, since a few grenades in certain places would've been quite enough, considering the weak building structure. Izumo looked about, trying to find something that she could use as a light. Unfortunately, nothing caught her eye, and lighting something on fire right now would be the stupidest thing to do, though she didn't put it past some of the other teenagers she was with. She watched as Shima and Bon argued over something trivial again, while Miwa tried to calm them down, probably doing more harm than good in her opinion. Izumo let out a large sigh, and walked forward, wading through the dirty water, which was just above her knees.

"Move it. We're never going to get anything done with your fighting, so just let me take care of it." She said harshly, not caring if she hurt her friend's feelings at the moment, when not only her life was on the line, but everyone else's.

xXxXx

"We need to get out of here. Now." Rock shouted over the haze.

"Working on it!" Wolf replied, ducking behind a wall, dodging a round of gun fire.

"Work faster!"

"Yeah, yeah. But, there's no way to ascend or descend! So, we either stay here, or jump out the window! Your choice." Wolf yelled, getting sick of the mass amount of scum running into the room they were in, making her quickly lose her patience.

"Fine, but we don't retreat until Demon gives the orders, understood?"

"Not like I was going to leave anyway, jackass!"

xXxXx

In all honesty, Rin didn't know what to think. It was just all happening too fast for his mind to keep up. No, he would admit, he wasn't the best at studying or math or reading, unlike his brother, but, the fact that Crow and himself hadn't seen a single man since their ascent, besides from the few at the beginning, was pretty unnerving.

It wasn't like he was complaining about the lack of guards or anything; he just thought it was weird, since they were getting closer to where Dragon was. But, what was increasing around them was the small demonic mushrooms and coal tar thriving around them, which honestly gave Rin the impression that Dragon simply didn't need human guards, which left Rin weary.

"Worried about something?" Crow said, breaking his thoughts.

"Not much. You?"

Crow smirked, "Are you implying that you want me to head back, Demon? Or are you honestly worried about what I'm thinking about in the heat of battle?"

"It was just a simple question, idiot." Rin frowned, picking up the pace, leaving Crow a few feet behind him, not beside him.

Rin didn't feel like keeping up small talk when their lives were on the line. This was dragging out too long, and the bomb would be going off soon, so, for the other's safety, he needed to get his job done.

In all the raids Rin had done, this was going to be the toughest, and everyone around him had put their lives in his hands. And in all honesty, Rin wasn't sure what to do.

Rin slightly shook his head to clear his clouding mind from unneeded thoughts. Demon burst through a steel door, finally reaching the roof.

And to say Rin was surprised of what he found was a deep understatement.

"Holy shit." Rin gasped, as he gazed upon lines of glinting guns.

Human men were lined up, barrels pointed at him, and the door Crow would soon be coming out of. Coal tar rushed around him, making the air dense and hazy. The smell of the miasma from the demonic mushrooms clouded Rin's mind, and through all that, Rin caught the eyes of Dragon. Dragon was simply standing there, behind his line of humans and their guns, smirking, fully knowing the outcome of what was coming.

Then, it happened so fast. Too fast.

It was too fast when Crow came rushing through the door. It was too fast for Rin to do anything meaningful, to try to save his life. It was too fast, but, somehow, he did it. And when he did, Rin knew the chances of him living through this, was close to zero.

When Crow came bursting through the door frame, Rin kicked him back into the building, off the roof, and slammed the door closed, shutting with such force, he jammed the lock. There was no going back now.

Guns fired, the gunfire turning into white noise, as Rin rushed forward, blood soon rushing down his face, blue eyes blazing, fists flying, destroying the human line up. But they weren't the prey. The bastard behind them was. Dragon was next, and even though part of Rin didn't want to kill him, he knew that he had too, because if he didn't no one was going to live.

"This is it, eh, Demon?" Dragon smiled, demonic energy dripping off of him.

"Sure is. And, I'll tell you something." Rin growled, eyes sharp, knuckles cracking.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

Rin rushed forward, closing the distance between them quickly, and punches were exchanged.

"_I'm_ not going to die, but, _you _will."

xXxXx

Guns blazed as the survivors that had withheld from Yukio's grenade regained their bearings and fired back. Yukio ran from cover to cover, running low, firing his pistols whenever he could. Yells and screams were heard as men fell, the injured fighting on, their will power their only hope for survival.

Yukio ran across the room, firing blindly, bullets whizzing past his ears. Yukio slid behind a large piece of rubble, and almost immediately silence was heard. The air was soon tense, and the only thing Yukio heard was his heavy breathing, and his rapid heartbeat. All the rest didn't matter. The shuffling of enemy footsteps made the air heavy with tension, until a grenade fell beside Yukio. The last thing he could do was cover his head, until a same screen of black smoke filled the roof.

Cuss words flew from Yukio's mouth in a mutter, and gunfire continued. No ground was gained, and no ground had been taken. To Yukio, he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing. Yukio charged forward, finding that if the enemy didn't know where to shoot, how would they know where he was?

xXxXx

Izumo had quickly taken the matter into her own hands and within moments, she had wired the bomb, though she couldn't choose a time for the detonation. To her, fifteen minutes seemed to long, and the shorter the battle went on, the better.

"Ten minutes." Shima said, eyes concentrating on the bomb in Izumo's hands.

"Wha-" She started, wide eyed.

"Set the detonation time for ten minutes. It should be enough time for everyone to get out. Besides, we can light the flares three minutes till." Shima explained, using hand gestures to get his point across.

"Fine! I was going to set it to ten anyways!" Izumo said her face red as she whipped her head away.

Izumo quickly set the time and set the bomb down, hoping the water wouldn't damage it in anyway.

"Okay! Now let's get out of here!" Miwa shouted, as he pointed to the small window they had come through before.

"Ladies first." Shima bowed low, and then straightened, to help Izumo through the window, and then helped Miwa.

Shima went next, and then helped Bon through. After waiting till the destined time, Bon lit the flares, a total of ten going at intervals.

"Now we wait, and see who comes back."

xXxXx

"Flares!" Wolf shouted over roar of the fight, trying to get Rocks attention.

"What?!" Rock shouted back, not sure of what he heard.

"Time to move out!" Wolf yelled, blood coating her shirt, her leather LS jacket had been lost long ago, and her jeans had several rips and tears.

Blood covered the walls, and bullet holes covered the entire room, including the ceiling. Rock pushed back another man and blew off his head with a gun. Rock himself wasn't looking too good, blood dripped from his forehead. His LS jacket had also been discarded a while back, and his clothes were soaked with blood, though he wasn't sure if it was enemies or his own.

Rock nodded to Wolf, and ran past her, jumping from the window, even though they were on the third floor. Wolf was about to follow, when a smoke grenade went off, and the exit was soon hidden from her view.

"Shit!"

Gunfire was heard, and flashes of light surrounded her. Wolf jumped behind some rubble and hit the ground, cradling her head in her hands.

All she could do is wait, and wait for the men around her to meet friendly fire.

xXxXx

Crow pounded at the door, but quickly held his shoulder when impact ran through his body. Demon had saved his life, but Crow still had to bite the bullet. His shoulder was swelling with blood, and soon he would be dead from blood loss. He raised his fist to beat against the door once again, when the room turned red.

Crow whipped his head to the window, to see a dying flare, and the lighting returned normal, until another flew into the air.

"Flares…"

Crow bolted down the stairs, and jumped from the closest window, hitting the fire escape below, and quickly made his way down, hoping that Demon had seen the flares as well.

xXxXx

Blades clashed, blood splattered, and blue flames licked at the air. Yes, Rin had seen the flares, considering he had a great view of battlefield below, but he made no move to get out.

He was going to finish this, no matter the price. Besides, he had been in his fair share of demon encounters, and this was nothing more than the usual, except for the higher stakes.

Dragon launched a flurry of punches, as Rin let forth his flames, trying to burn him alive, but to Rin disadvantage, Dragon kept breaking his focus.

"What happened to not dying?"

"Still not in my plans." Rin growled.

"Are you sure? I've always wondered what the son of Satan's blood would taste like." Dragon smiled.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you." Rin charged forward, clocking Dragon in the mouth, making him slide away and spit out blood.

"That wasn't very nice, my prince."

"Well, pardon my manners." Rin rushed forward again, and drew a knife from his belt, and a pistol in his other.

xXxXx

**A/N: Hi…sorry this took so long, and even after I just said I wouldn't take as long. Yeah. Sorry about that. But, anyways, this was the second part of the battle, and the third part is next. Now, I'm not going to say 'It'll be up faster, I swear!' because if I do, then it'll take forever to write. So, I'm keeping my mouth shut for the time being.**

**Once again guys, thank you so much for voting on my poll, and so far the leading age you guys think I am, is 16, 17 in second, and 15 in third. **

**THIS IS ABOUT THE FREAKING SEQUEL: please read this, because, if you don't, then, well, we might not have a sequel. But, anyways, tell me between this chapter and the last chapter what you want the sequel to be about. It WILL either be 1) the next generation (it will be at True Cross) or 2) a continuation of this, meaning everyone will be about 19 or 20. Or, 3) chose something else and tell me.**

**But, besides all that chizz, everyone have a nice day/night/morning/afternoon/evening/whenever you read this, and stay happy and stuff.**

**Read and Review, blah, blah, blah. Your input is very helpful! It makes me write faster because it means people actually give a damn about this story!**

…**I'll shut up now.**


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